Newsletter - 7th August 2024

Acknowledgement of Country

We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Wadawurrung people.  It is a privilege to be standing on Wadawurrung country.  

We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging.  We acknowledge the contributions of Indigenous Peoples from the past, present and future who contribute to this country in which we live.  

May Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians continue to work together to educate, unite and live in peace on this land we call home, Australia.

Upcoming Events

8th August:  St Mary of the Cross Feast Day (to be celebrated on 13th August)

14th August:  Pyjama Day (Bring a winter item for donation); Playgroup 9:00am-11:00am; Open Afternoon/Liturgy with Families

17th-23rd August:  Book Week

19th August:  Lunch orders delivered

20th August:  Playgroup 9:00am-11:00am

21st August:  Book Week Dress Up Day & Activities

22nd August:  School Closure Day - Staff Structured Literacy Professional Development

23rd August:  Damascus College SEED Day (Year 5 students)

27th August:  Playgroup 9:00am-11:00am

30th August:  Father's Day Breakfast

Prayer

Messages from the Principal

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MACKILLOP

This Thursday, the Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint will be celebrated across Australia. Known for her deep faith and dedication to education and the poor, her legacy continues to inspire us. We will be celebrating Mary MacKillop our school Feast Day as a community on Tuesday 13th August.  

Mary MacKillop co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and made education accessible to all. Her famous words, "Never see a need without trying to do something about it," remind us to act with compassion and service.

Join us in honoring her memory next Tuesday through prayer, acts of service, moments of reflection, a visit to the classrooms and afternoon tea.

PYJAMA DAY

The leadership team will be holding a pyjama day on 14th August where students and staff are invited to wear their pyjamas to school for the day. Each family is invited to bring some winter relief to families less fortunate and donate an tem such as a coat, jumper, scarf, tin of food etc.  These would all be very welcome and donated to Vinnies.  Hot chocolate will be available on the day for a gold coin donation.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Your cooperation in having your child at school on time and here every day is greatly appreciated. 

• It is necessary for all students to arrive at school early, prior to 8.50am.
• If your child is arriving at the school after 8:50am students will need to come through the office.
• Please use PAM to record full day absences prior to 8.30am so staff are aware. 
• Partial absences are recorded by Claire when students are signed in and out of the office.
• A medical certificate or other documentation may be requested where frequent absences due to illness occur.

Students can always have a play/run outside before school.  The bell will ring at 8.45am to ensure a smooth and productive start to the school day for everyone.

100 NIGHTS OF READING

Congratulations Genevieve for being our first student who has reached 100 nights of reading. Thanks for coming in and reading to me today. Genevieve even told me that when she came to school she could only write Gen and she didn’t know how to read. Those reading nights have really paid off and thank you to Team Prendergast too! Well done Genevieve! 

ART ON WEDNESDAY

Each newsletter we will focus on two artists.  Every Wednesday afternoon, Clare works with the Juniors and Seniors together to teach art.  Last week we used chalk pastels to create swirls and used blending and smudging to create an effect.  Here is the work of Genevieve and Alexis.

School Feast Day

Next Tuesday, 13 August, we are celebrating our Feast Day.  Saint Mary of the Cross, Mary MacKillop will feature strongly in our celebrations as we continue to learn more about the great works that she did and be inspired by her message, ‘never see a need without doing something about it.’

The children will participate in many activities during the day. We will prepare our own lunch as part of the day and so the children will only need to bring snacks for the day.  We will celebrate mass/liturgy at 2 pm in the school and you are all invited to join us for this and have a cuppa afterwards. 

Just to recap, Tuesday 13th of August is St Mary's Primary School, Clarkes Hill Feast Day.  Everyone is welcome to join us at 2pm.

Celebrating 100!

Once upon a time there were four little old ladies and one not so little who had all turned 100! They decided to celebrate their special day with fun, dress ups and investigations all about the number 100. The centenarian crew even visited the playgroup children. 

The centenarians discovered that 100:

*  Is an even number because it can be split or shared equally by 2

*  You can count to 100 by 1s or by skip counting using the numbers 2 or 5 or 10, even the number 20.

* 50 is half of 100; 25 is a quarter of 100

The items that we brought to school were:

* Genevieve: 100 mini m & ms

* Skyler: 100 rocks/crystals and buttons

* Adelaide:  100 Mentos

* Ellie:  100 lollipops

* Louise: 100 grains of rice

* Clare: 100 Scrabble tiles

Being a 100 year old for the day was fun but it will be good to be back to normal tomorrow!

Crime Prevention Posters

Congratulations to the Year 3-6 students who entered the "Our City: Be Safe, Feel Safe" Crime Prevention Competition! Our entries were collected last week and featured on the Eyewatch - Ballarat Police Service Area Facebook page over the weekend. 

Students were asked to create a poster, video or slogan that highlighted community crimes or safety issues and ways we can help prevent crime and injuries in our community. Leading Senior Constable Brendan Everard was very impressed with the enthusiasm of our students and the quality of their entries.

Well done everyone!

News from the South!

It's been a busy time in the South Room.  Here is what our students have been learning:

Patrick - Results of Multiplication & Division Learning:  This term in the South Room we have been learning about Multiplication & Division. We learned what the difference is between multiplication & division and I can tell you what the difference is. The difference between multiplication and division is that division is  multiplication but backwards because if you know multiplication you know division. For example, a multiplication number sentence would be 5 x 8=40 and the division number sentence would be 40 divided by 8 =5.

Vanessa - Hockey Clinic on Mondays:  On  Mondays for sport we have been learning how to play hockey. Zac from Hook in2 Hockey has been coming  to our school to teach us the skills of hockey. One skill we learnt is that when you hold the hockey stick you place your left hand at the top of the stick and your right hand at the bottom where the grip ends.  Learning to play hockey is really fun.

Alexis - Tee Ball Clinic on Fridays:  For the past two weeks the whole school has been participating in Tee Ball every Friday. We have learnt how to hit the ball off the tee. You put your feet on the side of what hand you write with and hit nice and hard. To catch it you need to make your hands look like a soup bowl in readiness for scooping the ball off the ground. You must put it back on the tee before the other two teams put theirs on to score a point. If you get the most points overall you get bragging rights! This game is so fun and I love learning new skills that can help me in other school sports.

Quinn - History of the English Language:  In English we have been learning about the history of the English language. We discovered it has 44 sounds and 500 ways to spell those sounds. No wonder it is hard to learn to spell many words correctly! Did you know that English took on 30% of Latin words? Also, many prefixes and suffixes are either Latin or Greek.  Some words come from old English such as good, to, in and for, while others are new English such as incredible and technology.

Will - Cooking on Wednesday:  This term with cooking we decided that there should be two groups because 12 kids were a lot of people in the kitchen and it was affecting our cooking.  Now one group cooks and the other works on  Lego Mechanics! We have made coconut roughs so far and I didn’t like them. We swap groups every week and we cook different foods every week. I LOVE IT!

Kaezia - Olympics and Concert:  This year the Olympics are being held in Paris. Over the past 10 days we have been watching and reading about the different sports, countries  and athletes who are competing this year in the Olympics . We have a book we fill out to record the daily events and also the daily medal tally.

Shhhh, I can't tell you much because it is a secret, but this term we have been auditioning for our school play which might be or might not be about the Olympics.  It has been fun practicing my role and we can't wait for you to see us in action later this term!

Happy Birthday

We would all like to wish Evie a very happy birthday for Thursday, 8th August.  Happy 12th birthday Evie!

Community Meeting - Wednesday Evening

A community meeting is being held on Wednesday, 7th August, commencing at 6pm at the Dean Hall to discuss the relationship between Parkinson's Disease and agricultural sprays used in the local area.  Research is currently being undertaken and community feedback is welcome.  Everyone is welcome to attend.

ODC July 2024 Edition

Please see the link below for the July 2024 edition of “Our Diocesan Community".  

School TV - Special Report: Eating Anxiety

The complexity of eating anxiety stems from a combination of social, psychological, and environmental factors. Young people may develop this anxiety due to social pressures related to eating in front of others, fears about body image, or due to more ingrained issues such as eating disorders. Additionally, cultural norms or dietary restrictions can also play significant roles, as can direct experiences like bullying or teasing related to food choices or eating habits.

Whilst not a formally recognised condition, eating anxiety is a genuine and often overwhelming experience that can significantly hinder a young person's ability to participate in everyday activities comfortably. This condition can lead to serious nutritional deficiencies and social withdrawal, impacting overall health and academic performance.

Recognising and addressing eating anxiety is crucial for parents, carer, and educators. Through education, policy changes, and community support, we can help young people manage their anxieties and improve their relationship with food, thereby enhancing their overall well-being and social interactions.

This Special Report will help you understand how best to support a child experiencing anxiety around eating.