Dear St Mary Families,

The last fortnight has been action packed as we continue to open up and do more activities at school and on the weekend! It was wonderful having so many children and families participate in our Walk Safely to School initiative and we hope to be able to do this again. The staff enjoyed it as much as their students. Thank you for your continued support as we juggle COVID situations and the flu, which has also made an appearance. Speaking to some of my colleagues, many of them are teaching sessions as Anthony and I are doing, as we juggle staff absences due to sickness and the scarcity of relief teachers.

Photo Shoot

Last Monday, we were so fortunate to have architecture, interior and landscape photographer, Di Snape (mum of Jeremiah), work with us. Di's work features in magazines and she is highly accomplished within her field. Di worked with the staff to photograph our learning spaces to be used in our upcoming school video and on our website. A huge thank you to Di for her continued support of our school and community.

Student Voice in action

A highlight of mine last week was working with all the students within the school during a Student Voice session. The students gathered in small groups led by our Year 6 Leaders and recorded WWW (What is Working Well at St Mary’s) and EBI (Even Better If at St Mary’s). The School Leaders and myself are collating these wonderful ideas and will create a Term 3, Term 4 and beyond action plan.

Here is a snapshot of some of the students’ magnificent ideas:

WWW: Art is fun, everyone is playing kindly at playtime, love Maths, love Spelling, the Pole Protectors keep us safe, using Chromebooks, buddy activities, Teddy Bear Picnic, new building, assembly, the sand pit . . .

EBI: a seesaw, making slime, running club, a swimming pool, tennis court, volleyball court, a class pet, vegie garden, more trees and flowers, St Mary’s Got Talent, skateboard ramp, having a movie night . . .

Election Saturday

Our democracy sausages and yummy treats were a huge success last Saturday and I thank the staff and families who worked towards making this happen. I was attending a wedding out of town and loved getting constant updates and photos of the day. We looked resplendent in our gold and blue and I think our cake stall will become a talking point around St Kilda East. The P & F are now in the process of writing a handbook to fine tune the operation for the State Election, later this year or early next year.

Reconciliation Week, Be Brave, Make Change.

Today marks a very special day in our cultural calendar and a movement that is gathering momentum. Today is Sorry Day and then from 27th May to 3rd June we celebrate Reconciliation Week, Be Brave, Make Change.

Meeting with our two Year 6 MCs for tomorrow's assembly; Kaylen and Xavier, they have prepared information to share with the community. Each year level and specialist area has a focus not just for this week, but embedded in their Faith Based Inquiry units. Next week the students will be learning about the following:

Class	Learning
Prep & Year One	Prep and Year 1 will be exploring why Reconciliation Week is important and how it strengthens relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non Indigenous peoples for the benefit of all Australians. Students will explore this through stories and Aboriginal culture. They will create a collaborative display using words and pictures.
Year 2	Year 2 will be looking at the map of Indigenous Australia and using the traditional place names for their home addresses and school. The story My Country will be the springboard.
Year 3	Year 3 will be exploring The Apology back in 2008, other texts as they look at the impact that one word -sorry- had on the Indigenous people of Australia? Where do we find ourselves today?
Year 4	Year 4 are analysing the Artwork for Reconciliation week this year and learning about the artist as well as learning about the history of Reconciliation Week. They will then create an Art Work display.
Year 5	Watching The Apology and reading The Burnt Stick with the class. The students will be writing their own Acknowledgement of Country.
Year 6	Using a collaboration of texts (The Burnt Stick, Took the Children Away, amongst others). The Apology and music by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu-Wiyathul and make comparisons between the messages and themes within a 2022 setting.
Art	Year levels will explore traditional mark making using charcoal, ink & ochre on a variety of natural surfaces including leaves & bark using found objects.
PE	Aboriginal games with a brief explanation of why we are doing them. Discuss Indigenous Athletes, their successes and impact on society.

Kindergarten Expo

Last week, Miss Jacquie, myself and two of our School Leaders Emilie and Leo attended a Renown Parent Kindergarten Expo. I was so proud standing alongside our leaders as they interacted with the pre-school families, answered questions and shared their insights. It was great to set up our table and chat to parents about our amazing school and hand out sunflower seeds with a QR code to our website. Thanks to Anthony Speranza for our tech support.

Science at St Mary's College

Our senior students have had the opportunity to work in St Mary's College Science labs. This is an exciting initiative and we thank Marcia Rogerson the Laboratory Technician for inviting us across and organising the sessions. The students really enjoyed being in the labs and we look forward to growing many scientists!

National Simultaneous Reading Day

Yesterday we all gathered in our rooms to participate in Simultaneous Reading Day. The highly engaging and powerful picture story Family Tree by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Ghosh, was read to students in Australia, New Zealand and around the world. Some visitors from Prep visited me later in the day, to share their learning, magnificent work Prep J!

Around the School Updates

This fortnight we have had the alarm systems upgraded within the buildings.
We are currently seeking quotes to paint and carpet the Berchmans Centre, including the Community Room (P & F room).
New toilet seats have been placed in the Prep and Year 1 bathrooms and staffroom bathrooms.
We are sourcing some external companies to offer some extracurricular activities after school. More information will be in the next newsletter.
Lunch time clubs are being explored. If you have a talent or skill and would like to be involved please call or email Anthony or myself.
Two café kitchens have been kindly donated to the school and we thank the Alsop and Formica-Fiddy families for these.
Our bike racks and surrounding area are nearly ready to go, which will mean the students can safely park their bikes and scooters along the side of the school.

Student Free Day - Friday 5th August 2022

Please note that our next Whole Staff Professional Development Day is on Friday 5th August. This will be a Student Free Day. The staff will continue to deepen their knowledge in regards to our highly successful Positive Behaviour Learning approach, to support each student. We are also introducing Seesaw as an interactive learning platform, later in Term 3. This PD day we will allow the staff to prepare for this initiative. TheirCare will be available on this day.

Upcoming Dates

Sun 29th May - Ascension of the Lord

Sun 5th June - Pentecost Sunday

Wednesday 8th June - Yr 5 & 6 Holt Lightning Premiership Netball

Thursday 9th June - Yr 5 & 6 Holt Lightning Premiership Football (AFL)

Take care and peace and God’s blessing to each of you,

Cathy

TheirCare Program