Principals Announcments

Newsletter Address ~ Term 2 Week 5 & 6 2022

Prayer for National Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation Prayer

Holy Father, 

God of Love You are the Creator of this land and all good things 

We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history 

And the suffering of our peoples. 

And we ask your forgiveness. 

We thank you for the survival of Indigenous cultures 

Our hope is in you because you gave your son Jesus 

To reconcile the world to you. 

We pray for your strength and grace to forgive, 

Accept and love one another, 

As you love us and forgive and accept us 

In the sacrifice of your Son. 

Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history 

So that we may build a better future for our nation. 

Teach us to respect all cultures. 

Teach us to care for our land and waters. 

Help us to share justly the resources of this land. 

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change 

To improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities, 

Especially the disadvantaged. 

Help our young people to find true dignity 

and self-esteem by your Spirit May your power and love 

be the foundations on which we build our families, 

our communities and our Nation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen 

St Mel’s Parish Prayer

God our Father,

Bless our Parish so that we may love you more. Encircle our families with your loving care.  Help parents to be good examples to their children and our youth to grow in strength as good Christians. To the sick, grant health. To the aged, bring serenity and to those in sorrow, joy.

May we grow stronger in faith and may our love for one another become

 deeper in our daily living. 

Amen

Child Safe Commitment:

All students enrolled, and any child visiting St Mel’s, have a right to feel safe and be safe. The wellbeing of children in our care will always be our first priority and we have zero tolerance to child abuse. We aim to create a child safe and child friendly environment where children feel safe and are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety.

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Friends of St Mel’s,

As Principal of St Mel’s, I was immensely proud to spend time with prospective families during our Open Day last Wednesday showcasing our school.  Thank you particularly to our Year 6 Leadership Team who led families on tours. They were amazing ambassadors of our school and I’ve received many compliments on their manners, confidence and the way they proudly spoke of their primary school. Well done, Baraka, AJ, Mia, Harleen, Grace, Cruz and Malalia.  If you are considering or know of someone who is considering schooling options for 2023, please call St Mel’s and we will gladly show you around. Enrolments for 2023 are now open and any enquiries are most welcome. 

This year during National Reconciliation Week, Reconciliation Australia invites all Australians to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, to share that knowledge and help us grow as a nation. This year’s theme This year’s theme ‘Be Brave. Make Change’ urges the reconciliation movement towards being braver in thinking and action.  For more information about National Reconciliation Week please visit: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/ 

Last Friday 27th May marked the beginning of National Reconciliation week, which runs through until June 3rd. We recognise, through prayer and reflection, the importance of remembering past injustices and looking to the future of building positive relationships and opportunities for all Australians.  We held 

a special reconciliation liturgy on Friday to launch National Reconciliation Week and to pay respect to our local indigenous families.   We also celebrated special friends & visitors’ day.   It was great to welcome many parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or someone special to visit our learning suites and spend time with us learning and working together. Experiences such as these, especially taking the time and interest in your child’s education, go a long way to help support our students in their growth and development as learners.   

Congratulations to Nathan Secchi (teacher year 5/6) and his partner Olivia on the safe arrival of their second child, Hayden.  Hayden is the younger brother to Piper who is three years old.   Wonderful news Nathan!!!

Thank you to the many parents who were able to attend our parent – teacher – student interviews last week.   The feedback has been very positive with all students achieving great things throughout the course of the year.   Please reinforce teacher comments and continue to encourage your children to be the best learners they can be.   

It has been a particularly difficult fortnight, in fact whole term, with staff and student illness.   On average we have had 50-60 students out each day and 8-10 staff members.   Thankfully we have managed to keep interruptions to student learning to a minimum.   Your understanding and support has been greatly appreciated.   

A reminder our swimming program commences in week 7, Monday 6th June to the 10th of June.  Detailed information and permission forms will be forwarded this week. 

REMINDER:  SCHOOL CLOSURE DAY this FRIDAY 3rd June. ~ Staff PD Day

All children should now be in full winter uniform. Thank you, parents, for making sure that your children come to school each day dressed in correct uniform. Our uniform plays an important part in setting the culture of our school and I really appreciate your support on this. Several items are available in our second-hand uniform shop and a full list of our winter school uniform can be found on our website. 

Have a wonderful week everyone.  Do your best. Respect our school. Help others succeed.

2022 Swimming Program

ST MEL’S SWIMMING PROGRAM 

AQUAMOVES – Tom Collins Drive, Shepparton

Monday 6th June  – Friday 10th June, 2022

As part of our Physical and Health Education requirements, all students at St Mel’s Primary School will be participating in compulsory swimming sessions at Aquamoves.

Please see further information in 'News from around the School' Page detailing requirements and year level times.

Canteen Update & Staff Vacancy

As we are still advertising for a new canteen manager, unfortunately again, there will be no lunch orders next week.  

The canteen window service will be open from Wednesday to Friday next week.  Children can bring money to spend at the canteen Wed-Fri.   This may be the pattern of service for the next few weeks until we find another manager or until an alternative arrangement for lunch orders is sourced.   We will keep families posted.

We are still advertising for position of St Mel’s Canteen Manager.  

This is a Maternity Leave Position (0.6), commencing 8th June 2022.

Hours will be 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Wednesday to Fridays, including 0.5 hour paid break. Totaling 5.0 hours per day or 15 hours per week.

Please see attached advertisement for relevant information. If you know of anyone who you think may be interested please feel free to share this information.

Further enquiries can be directed to Chris Summers - St Mel's Principal - 5821 3163 or

principal@smshepparton.catholic.edu.au 

HISTORY OF NATIONAL SORRY DAY 

The first National Sorry Day was observed in 1998, a year after the first “Bringing Them Home” report — the result of a government inquiry into the child-stealing of the 20th century — was brought before the Australian Parliament. Among that report’s recommendations was the idea of an unreserved apology and the proposition that a portion of the national budget should be put towards reparations.

The formal apology came in 2008, when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister. The best former Prime Minister John Howard had done, in 1999, was to put forth a “Motion of Reconciliation” that expressed regret and sympathy, but no admission of culpability. In the meantime, there was a motion to rename the day “The National Day of Healing,” which passed in 2005.

It was really Prime Minister Rudd’s unreserved apology that really struck a chord in the hearts of Australians. It was his Parliament that adopted the goals of the “Closing the Gap” movement, which focused on the health and equality of indigenous peoples of all generations. Closing the Gap was run by Oxfam Australia between 2009 and 2019, and then was handed over to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR), who still produce an annual report.

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how Australians can all play a part in the healing process for the people and nation. While this date carries great significance for the Stolen Generations and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it is also commemorated by Australians right around the country.

May Birthday's

Happy Birthday to everyone that has celebrated his or her birthday this month:  Happy Birthday May Babies:

Joe Worrall, Jamison Garner-Griffiths, Ameet Gill, Marwa Dewass, Felix Cole, Sam Douglas, Parteet Kaur, Mehar Gill, Kayden Gleeson, Ashton Salder, Charlie Gleeson, Reda Aleendany, Gracie Ciancio, Max Barnes, Michael Mandoo, Zoe Marasco, Mitch O’Shea, Baraka Musafiri, Dougal Ladd, Jack Ladd, Sajad Hassan, Sofia Napier, Faith Borzillo, Archie Daiton, Minnat Sidhu, Veronica O’Toole and Wendy Baldwin.

GRATITUDE -  is a gift and we often talk to our students of the things they are grateful for.  The following clip is from Hugh van Cuylenberg founder of the Resilience Project.  Some  of you may be familiar with Hugh’s messages.  If not, it’s worth taking the time to check out his work regarding teaching students and adults about Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri2mgRMUrCI

Signing out students ~ Class Interruptions 

We have noticed there have been more and more parents picking children up early from school.  Each time a message is put over the PA system it interrupts student learning. Please only pick up your child/ren early if they have an appointment. 

From Term 2, PA announcements will no longer be made for early collection of students, instead, parents will be given a ‘pass’ from the office and will need to collect children themselves from classrooms. Parents will also need to sign students out using the student register which is now automated through an iPad in the office.    Thank you for your attention to this.

Congratulations to all students who were students of the week last week. Thank you for doing your best; respecting our school and helping others succeed.

School Calendar

Please visit the 'Upcoming Dates & Events' page to keep informed about what's coming up and any date changes to events.