Dear families,

Tomorrow there will be a minute of silence in memory of all people who have served Australia, at times losing their lives. It is a time to reflect and express gratitude for the country we live in and empathy towards families impacted by their loss.

Reporting

At this time of the year, teachers are busily engaged in creating your child’s report, being mindful of ensuring that it is an accurate record of their achievement during the semester. Much thought goes into recording all educational growth in order to represent your child's successes. I thank all the teachers for the effort and time which they put into these documents.

Over the next few weeks teachers are also involved in the testing of literacy and numeracy skills to update data we have on your child’s learning journey. Class groupings and teacher allocations are nearing completion and I hope to inform you before the end of November of your child’s class and teacher for 2024. If you have any requests that relate to your child's placement for 2024, please email me directly.

Confirmation

This Sunday, children from our school and parish will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with Bishop Terry.

Confirmation is the final of the initiation sacraments to be received in the Catholic Church- the others being Baptism and Eucharist.

It is administered by laying-on of hands and anointing with chrism (oil) accompanied by prayer. The chrism is blessed by the Bishop and the Bishop administers the sacrament. All baptized persons can and should be confirmed.

The sacrament of Confirmation gives strength in faith and helps us to live our lives with the gifts of the Holy Spirit so we display the qualities of: gentleness, trustfulness, self-control, patience, joy, goodness, love, peace and kindness in our lives.

We are looking forward to a memorable celebration.

School Production

Congratulations to all the children and staff on a fantastic and successful production! Their hard work, dedication, and creativity have truly paid off, and the result was a remarkable showcase of talent and teamwork. It was truly evident that everyone involved put in tremendous effort to make this production a success.

To the students: Your performances were outstanding, and you should be proud of the skills and confidence you demonstrated on stage. Your commitment to the production did not go unnoticed, and you've undoubtedly created lasting memories for yourselves and the audience.

To the staff: Your guidance, support, and organizational skills have played a crucial role in bringing this production to life. Your commitment to fostering a creative and collaborative environment has contributed to the overall success of the event. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the success of the students and the production.

A special thanks to Anna and Cara for their leadership in creating such a memorable event for the community of St Mary's.

This achievement is a testament to the strength of our school community and the importance of the arts in education. Bravo to everyone involved, and may this success be the first of many more to come!

Have a wonderful week ahead and I hope the Year 4-6 students have an amazing adventure at camp next week.

John

St Mary's School, Castlemaine

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility

TERM 4, WEEK 6 · 10 Nov 2023

In this issue