PREP

We have had a fabulous 2 weeks in Prep. Last Friday, we had our very first Sports Day over at the Lake Oval. It was great to see all of the Preps in their colours and participating to score points for their house colour. A big congratulations to Gold house for winning this year's events. Thank you to all those families who came over to watch and cheer on our Preps and all of the other children at St Mary’s.

Here is what our Preps had to say this week about our School Sports:

Jimmy - I liked doing the Athletics and doing the basketball game.

Ollie D - I liked the games and the sports. I even liked the sausages back at school.

Alex L - I liked the races and the games.

Alba - I liked the running races.

On Monday, some children received a reading part for our upcoming Prayer Gathering in Term 2. Our Prayer Gathering will be on Thursday 22nd of May, so mark this date on your calendar. It would be great if you could help your child to learn their speaking part. If your child didn’t receive a reading part, this is because they are saying the school prayer in a small group and we practise this every day.

Tomorrow is our ‘special sock day’. This is to celebrate World Down syndrome Day and Harmony Day. These two important awareness days are about inclusion, compassion, care and acceptance. St. Mary’s school is proud to be an inclusive and diverse school community.

Many of you will know Eli Brumby from Grade 3 and recognise that he lives with Down syndrome. This is a beautiful part of who Eli is and is a major contributing factor to Eli being the resilient and cheeky character he is.

We have been learning about the days of the week and collecting data through yes and no questions. To record this data, we have been using tally marks. This has been a great way to introduce asking and answering simple questions.

School Photos are scheduled for Tuesday 1st of April. Preps will need to wear their FULL Summer uniform on this day with black shoes. Even though it is PE day, we ask that you DO NOT wear this uniform. The children will still be able to participate in PE.

Gemma Blake gblake@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Elissa Rodger erodger@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 1

We were so proud of our Year 1 children on Friday when they prayed so beautifully through their singing, story telling, art work and reading at our Prayer Gathering. Thank you to our families for your involvement at home and for being there on the day. We were also very proud of them at the School Sports Day. They did a fantastic job participating in the activities and cheering on their team mates.

As you will be aware we sent home the Counting Goals books on Monday, if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. The children were very excited to bring and share the timeline of their life photos. Thank you for sending these in.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Leah Martin lmartin@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rebecca Murray rmurray@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Judy Carr jcarr@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Paula Parish pparish@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 2

The term is certainly flying by, and we are making the most of every moment with lots of learning and fun along the way!

Literacy News

We are incredibly proud of how well our students have embraced our whole-class literacy instruction, supported by the Little Learners Love Literacy program. As always, we aim to cater to a wide range of abilities, and we appreciate your feedback regarding home reading. We strive to balance engaging, enjoyable books with material that supports fluency and confidence. Since students have some autonomy in selecting their readers, it can be tricky to check them all within our short library sessions. Please let us know if your child’s home reading materials are not quite the right fit.

Homework Folders

Next week (Week 9), we will be checking in on the students’ counting goals. We plan to review all counting goals on Monday, but if we don’t get through them all, some folders may remain at school overnight and go home on Tuesday afternoon. Thank you for your understanding.

Maths Magic

We have now completed our unit on place value, where students explored reading, writing, and ordering two- and three-digit numbers. They also worked on identifying 1, 10, and 100 more or less and manipulating numbers based on place value. This solid foundation will set them up for success as we move into our exciting new unit on 'addition'.

Abilities In Me

This week, we have been using the Abilities In Me book series to spark important discussions about diversity and inclusion. Our goal is to help students appreciate and understand the unique abilities and differences that make each of us special. Through these conversations, we have explored both visible differences, such as wearing glasses or using a wheelchair, and those that may not be immediately apparent, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down syndrome, and ADHD. If you have any questions or concerns about this unit, please feel free to reach out via ClassDojo.

ClassDojo Communication

We love how easy it is to stay connected with you via ClassDojo! However, please keep in mind that during the school day, we may not always have the opportunity to check messages promptly. If your message is urgent and requires immediate attention, we kindly ask that you contact the school office.

Classroom Highlights

With just two weeks left in Term 1, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate some wonderful achievements in our classroom. We absolutely LOVE our class fridge, where we proudly display all the things that make our students feel special. As part of our Lenten journey, we have been ‘feasting on kindness’ and have created a beautiful kindness tree, where each leaf represents a thoughtful act. Our All About Me projects look fantastic, and we have truly enjoyed seeing all the adorable baby photos!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out via ClassDojo.

Emma Roberts eroberts@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Matt O'Dowd modowd@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Amanda Delorenzo mdelorenzo@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 3

What a fantastic day we experienced last week during our School Sports Day! Everyone conducted themselves in a fabulous manner, displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout the events. It was wonderful to see our students cheering each other on and participating with such enthusiasm.

As we approach our Kangaroobie Camp, the excitement is building among our students! While many are eagerly looking forward to the adventure, we know some nerves are creeping in. Camp provides a fantastic bonding opportunity for our students and staff alike, and we are confident it will be a memorable experience for all.

This week, we are wrapping up our unit on Fractions. Students have worked hard to understand this essential concept. Next, we will be transitioning to our unit on Probability to finish off the term, allowing students to explore the chances and likelihood of different events.

Students have been diligently working on their Convicts Projects, and we can't wait for you to see the amazing work they have created! We will be inviting parents in on Thursday 3rd of April for our Convict Project Presentation. Stay tuned for more details!

Jade LoRicco jloricco@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Deb Holland dholland@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 4

We would like to invite our Grade 4 family and friends along with the whole school community to our Prayer Gathering on ‘Growth’ this Friday.

Our Grade 4 camp is coming around quickly!. There is a new PAM permission in regards to camp due to a transport change. Can parents/carers please jump on and sign that off please. There will be more information coming soon in regards to packing lists etc.

In the classroom, students are looking at fractions during our numeracy sessions. We are studying Kensuke’s Kingdom which is assisting us in our persuasive writing as we look at different techniques to make our writing more powerful. Our ‘First Contacts’ unit is finishing off with an open classroom where parents and friends are welcome to come in and view our Convict Posters.

Here are some things that our Grade 4s have had to say about school the last few weeks.

Claire A ‘I loved sports day! Gold winning made the day even more special’

Tahlia A ‘I’ve enjoyed painting dragons and sea creatures in Art class’

Harrison A ‘I loved the sprints during sports day! I enjoyed cheering on my friends as they ran too!’

March 21st- Year 4 Prayer Gathering ‘Growth’

March 27th & 28th - Year 4 Camp to Warrnambool

April 1st - School Photos

April 3rd- Convict Poster Presentation 2:30-3:00pm

April 4th - End of Term 1

Matt Absalom mabsalom@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Meg Knight mknight@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5

It's hard to believe we're nearly at the end of Term 1! We had a fantastic time at the Lake Oval last Friday with our Tabloid sports. A huge thank you to all the parents who came out to watch and support our Year 5 students.

NAPLAN is now behind us and we are incredibly proud of the Year 5 students for their dedication and resilience throughout the tests. They truly showed their strength in pushing through.

Next week, we will be hosting our Term 1 Prayer Gathering, focusing on the theme of ‘Hope’ and exploring its significance during our Jubilee Year. The students have been working hard on creating beautiful drawings and practising songs for this special event, which will take place in Week 9, on the 28th of March.

In Maths, we’ve been honing our vertical algorithm skills with four-digit numbers and regrouping. The students have been applying this knowledge through two-step problem-solving tasks and using tactile money to calculate change. We are now starting our decimal unit looking at thousandths.

In Literacy, we’re wrapping up our study of War Horse and moving towards writing book reviews. The students have shown great enthusiasm and insight throughout this novel study.

Looking ahead, our Year 5 Camp will be held from Wednesday, June 4th, to Friday, June 6th, at the Anglesea Discovery Camp. We hope that most students will be able to attend and we’re letting you know in advance to help with planning. More information on this camp will be provided in Term 2.

Kinder Visits have begun, with Wednesday trips to Windred Nance and Nido kindergartens. It was a wonderful experience, especially sharing a picture book of their choice with the children. We look forward to our other kinder visits in the coming weeks.

Finally, thank you to everyone for staying on top of homework. Please continue to bring it each Monday and dairies on each day. Keep up the great work!

Quick Reminder: If you have a message that needs to be delivered to your child, such as changes to their transportation (e.g., going on the bus tonight), please notify the office directly.

Rachel Downard rdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Rachael Cahill rcahill@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 6

Once again, it has been a busy fortnight in Year 6. Last week was a short week with a public holiday and a student free day. Students also had their Tabloid Sports Day last Friday which was a fun day for all. Congratulations to Gold House on the win and to all of our House Captains who showed great leadership on the day.

In Maths, students have started reviewing decimals to the thousandths place. In Literacy, we are continuing with our novel, Rivet Boy, and persuasive writing. Students are also learning about Australia’s systems of government during our inquiry sessions.

Yesterday we had a visit from Trinity College. Past students Billy and Milly came to talk to us about what classes are on offer and different events they have, such as the Swimming Carnival. Some of our students will be heading to Trinity’s Open Day with their families next week, if this is something you’re interested in but have not yet organised, please get in touch with Trinity College.

Important Dates:

Wednesday 26th March - Trinity Open Day

Monday 31st March - Lawn Bowls (for those selected)

Tuesday 1st April - School Photos

Friday 4th April - Last day of term

Wed 15th Oct - Fri 17th Oct - Melbourne Camp

Jess Downard jdownard@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Jodie Hassett jhassett@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Katie Monaghan kmonaghan@smcolac.catholic.edu.au

Birthday Wishes