Principal's

 

Panorama

Welcome back Angels,

Term 2 and "Winter is Coming".. bit of cold snap happening this week. Please encourage your child to bring and wear jumpers and coats.  Sick children do not learn very well.. we want to keep these possums healthy.

I trust you all had a fantabulous and refreshing time away. I would like to thank Kerrie Priddis (Catholic Schools Office) for coming up during the second week and offering learning and support for some of our educators. We appreciate you coming onsite and meeting with us.

It felt a bit odd coming in for one day and then straight into our ANZAC Day March.  However we had great representation from SMOTA, certainly proves we are a small school with a large commitment to our community.  Thank you to all of our educators, parents and students who attended on the day, helped pin on rosemary and herd our gorgeous 'cats' into neat lines to pay our respects.

Miss Lulu C. was trying to convince me that she had marched more times than I had, as I only marched last year.  

I do not think I was successful in convincing her that, including my time in army cadets in FNQ, I had marched in ANZAC day ceremonies every year (except 2020 where in Victoria we stood at our farm gates at dawn to hear the bugle broadcast from our local radio due to Covid Lockdown) since I was her little brothers age.

It is an honour to stand beside the next generation as we pay our respects to those who have served our country.  The future of our country, honouring the sacrifices of the past.  Upon returning to school on Wednesday, our students celebrated an ANZAC Day liturgy in the parochial hall.

Sporting:

Congratulations to two of our sporting champions :

Rachel Jackson making it to Polding for Soccer and to  Darcy S for his efforts at Polding Rugby League last Friday.  That young man is a trooper..playing with stitches in his foot! We are so proud of both of you making it to that level!

Cross Country

Thank you to all staff, parents/carers and students for their support of the annual SMOTA Cross Country.  It is an event that cannot occur without staff working tirelessly behind the scenes and without volunteers manning the check points and ensuring our children are safe in their sporting endeavours.

Thanks go to: Beth Rosser, Bec Cochrane, Tomoko Sawaki, Tish Ellem, Ash Laing and Natalie Hope for manning check points.

Thanks to David, Felicity and Rita Williams and Emma McLennan for cooking and manning the all important BBQ and to the Parents and Friend Committee for lunch organisation.

For those student who have made it though in their age group to the Diocesan Cross Country on the 19th May in Barraba, your permission forms have come through from Compass on Monday.  If you wish to be a parent volunteer please let the school know as soon as possible.

Staff Professional Development:

Staff have been flat strap with professional development over the past couple of weeks. Firstly with work with Kerrie Priddis on planning and curriculum, to working with Claire Ryan on Assessment Data and St Mary of the Angels Guided Reading practices to Casey Chard on the Great Maths Learning Sequence.  As a whole staff we additionally have a Catholic Schools Office facilitated professional development on VCOP on the 8th May in Armidale, this will be a whole school closure day.

Seeking Assistance:

We are looking to aid our Year 5/6 students (and if successful; our 3/4 students) in increasing their interview skills.

We have found that those students who are sitting interviews for schools such as Farrer, PLC, NEGS etc. are coming away from the interviews feeling as though.. "I could have said more"..or "I should have said.."

By practicing interview skills we are looking to build our students;  Confidence and likeability (socially appropriate), answering in complete sentences, creative/honest answers.

We will do this by first teaching them appropriate salutations and provide base questions for them to practice.  We will then hold mock interviews  with members of our school community.  I have enlisted the help of some of our School Advisory Council Members, however I am extending this invitation to other members of our school community who have a current/valid Working With Children's Check from NSW Government.  If you would like to assist our students with their confidence and extended answers for interviews for future schooling or work, please contact guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au

A look ahead at Term 2

Mothers Day Breakfast:

We would love for you to join us to celebrate all of the wonderful hardworking women in our lives on Wednesday the 10th of May for our Mothers Day Breakfast.  Please see COMPASS news items for details.

Student Led Conferences (Parent Teacher Interviews) Week 9. 

Tuesday 20th and Wed 21st June.

Please see COMPASS for booking details.

Teachers for booking

Mrs Grills: Transition

Mrs Ahumada: Kindergarten

Mrs Hayes: Grade 1/2

Mrs Holmes: Grade 3/4

Mr Niemerg: Grade 5/6

Parents and Friends Meeting

Next Parents and Friends Meeting 10th May 6:30pm at the St Mary of the Angels Administration Building.

SAC - School Advisory Council Meeting

I would like to advise that the next SAC meeting will occur on the 14th June at 6:00pm at the St Mary of the Angels Administration Building.

Attendance

Every day at school counts, every minute counts! 

• Regular attendance at school is fundamental to student learning. Students who attend school regularly are more likely to achieve educational success and increase their career and life options.
• Student attendance has been identified as an important aspect of a student’s wellbeing and failure to receive an education has been identified as a risk of harm factor.

If your child has to be absent from school, you must inform the school and provide a reason for your child’s absence. A small number of absences may be accepted by the principal. 

• Attend a special religious ceremony
• Is required to attend to a serious and/or urgent family situation (e.g. a funeral)
• Is too sick to go to school or has an infectious illness.

There are a number of options available to notify the school:

• Enter an attendance note in Compass
• Send an email to guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au
• Call the school on 02 67791661

Canberra Camp Year 5/6 Students

A reminder to all Year 5/6 Parent/Carers that the 2023 Canberra Camp will occur on 

Sunday 17th September to Thursday 21st September 2023. 

Final bookings have been completed and costings are being finalised for the Year 5/6 camp. 

Thank you to Mrs Ahumada for her tireless efforts in making this camp a great one! 

Over the next two weeks the camp will be listed for consent, packing sheet will go home and the first of the camp instalments will be sent to parents.

Contacting Your Child's Teacher

Teachers welcome contact from parents, if you need to talk with staff please either contact the class teacher by phoning the school – 02 6779 1661 or email the school on guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au