From the Deputy 

Business Directory

A reminder that Rian (Nirvaan's mum), is kindly working on putting together a community directory together to help families who run small businesses reach a wider audience. This is also extended to anyone who has a special skill set or is happy to do any freelance or volunteer work. For more information please see the P&F page or the Community page in this newsletter. To make a submission to the directory, please go to https://forms.gle/7MWq85Zbri9dxt6c7

Swimming program

The swimming program is well underway and the Year 2s, Year 3s and Year 5s have been very much enjoying the experience at St Mary’s College, particularly after not being able to swim last year.

A reminder that the Preps, Year 1s, Year 4s and Year 6s will commence their swimming sessions on Mon 22nd Aug. On the days that students are swimming they will be required to bring the following to school:

- Bathers (to be worn to school under school uniform, as swimming lessons will be in the morning)

- Underwear to change into after the lesson

- A swimming cap (preferably the latex / silicon type which are waterproof)

- A towel

- Thongs / flip flops

- Goggles if desired

- A carry bag for all items, separate to school bag

A reminder that parents are welcome to spectate but cannot enter the change rooms.

We are looking for a few parent helpers to assist with changing at the end of lessons for Prep and Year 1 students. A valid Working With Children Check must be held by the parent with a copy given to the office. If you are able to assist on some or any days with Prep and Year 1, please respond via Operoo accordingly or get in touch with Anthony.

Student Representative Council update

Our SRC reps from April to August have taken to their roles with pride, and I thank them for attending the SRC meetings and providing valuable input and insights to our discussions. To seek our August to December representatives, students who were willing to take up the role and also have not been an SRC representative previously were nominated, and then randomly selected from each class and cohort. The representatives for the remainder of the year are as follows:

Richard F PJ, Mila L PJ, Amelia A 1M, Jarvis H 1M, Orion V 2R, Mavis E 2R, Bella Di 2B, Sasha M 2B, Allegra C 3C, Nicholas G 3C, Hugo C 3M, Aurora J 3M, Lolita B 4M, Xavier G 4M, and Matilda P 5M.

Our current SRCs have been working on ways to improve the playground experience for all students, and will be completing a handover with our new SRC representatives next week.

Seesaw

We are delighted to announce that our school will be introducing the Seesaw learning app. By using the app with students in the classroom, we hope to give families insight into their learning progress over time, which was identified as a top priority in our recent Reporting & Communication survey and focus group with families. Seesaw will also allow classroom teachers and the school to streamline communication to families, so as to make our partnership between school and home even more effective.

Classroom teachers are now in the process of educating their students on posting items to their journal, and we can’t wait to invite families to link with their children’s journal later this month.

eSmart Program

We are also really excited to announce that we will be taking part in the eSmart Framework Program to become an eSmart School. eSmart is an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation that aims to create a culture of smart, safe, and responsible use of technology.

eSmart recognises the important role schools play in preparing students to confidently navigate a digital world and supports the implementation of evidence-based policies and practices to promote cyber safety and assist in the prevention of cyberbullying. 

Over the next 12 months, we will complete the planning and implementation requirements of the six domains within the eSmart Framework. These include; 

• effective school organisation
• school plans, policies and procedures
• a respectful and caring school community
• effective teacher practices
• an eSmart curriculum
• partnerships with parents and the local community

An eSmart school is a school where the smart, safe and responsible use of information and communications technology is a cultural norm. Students, teachers and the wider school community are equipped to embrace the best these technologies can offer, while being savvy about the pitfalls.

Students are regularly involved in developing and delivering information on the smart, safe and responsible use of technologies to a variety of audiences and are taught a suite of social and emotional skills.

Daniela Borgese and I will continue to keep the community updated as we progress through this journey.

Movie Night

Our next P&F event will be the Movie Night for students, taking place on Thursday the 25th of August. Bookings will be open from Friday the 12th of August until 23rd of August. Bookings are essential due to the catering and organisation that goes on behind the scenes. Students attending the movie night will need to be dropped off at school at 5:00pm and will be ready to be picked up at 7:15pm. You can book tickets at https://www.trybooking.com/CBVIE and we hope to see many students arriving at school in the twilight for a great night.

Book Week

Book week this year will be held from Monday 22nd through to Friday 26th. The theme this year is Dreaming With Eyes Open. Throughout the week there is a book fair, pyjama dress up day, and a live performance. For further information please see the around the school page or check the school calendar.