MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the start of the 2021 school year at St Mary’s. I hope that you all had an enjoyable break together as a family and are refreshed, ready to tackle another year. I would like to welcome our new Foundation students and their families to St Mary’s. Starting school is not always easy, however all of our new students have started amazingly well and we look forward to working closely with them and their families to provide them with a high-quality education.
I have been privileged to spend some time in each of the rooms over the past week and I have witnessed very settled and engaged students, eager to learn and do their best. In the Foundation and Grade 1 classroom I saw students enthralled as they were learning about volcanoes. In the Grade 2/3 classroom, students were actively engaged in the new SMART Spelling program, which we have implemented across the school. Finally, I was blown away in the Grade 4/5/6 classroom by the Grade 6 students that presented their School Captains speech to the whole school. All of the girls spoke openly about their time at St Mary’s, the positive impact the school has had on them and how they would make everyone else’s time at St Mary’s as good as theirs. They will all be great leaders of our school, regardless of whether they are elected!
I look forward to working with you all this year and remember that my door is always open if you need a chat.
Kind regards,
Joel
2021 Class Structure
As mentioned at the end of 2020, we have a new class structure for 2021. This year we have three classroom environments, with Maria Moore teaching Foundation and Grade 1, Anthony Sheedy teaching Grade 2 and 3, and Deb Owens teaching Grade 4, 5 and 6. Maria, Anthony and Deb will be replaced in their classrooms each Wednesday by Sue Benc (Foundation and Grade 1), Hope Haughie (Grade 2 and 3) and Heather Flynn (Grade 4, 5 and 6) for their planning and leadership release. This year we are pleased to welcome Hope Haughie to the St Mary’s teaching team. She has been a member of the St Mary’s community for many years and it is great to now have her as one of our teachers. We know that she will be a great asset for the school. This year our teaching staff will again be ably supported by our Education Support Officers, Tracey Richards (Foundation and Grade 1), Jo Griffiths (Grade 2 and 3) and Sharon Garland (Grade 4, 5 and 6). Our Education Support Officer’s will work closely with those students who need extra support in a variety of areas of the curriculum. This year we are also pleased to utilise Sue Benc in a Literacy Support role. Sue will work closely with a select group of students, from all three classrooms, targeting their individual needs in reading, writing and oral language. This will have a significant impact on improving these essential Literacy skills.
The Curriculum
St Mary’s uses the Victorian Curriculum to enable teachers to plan, monitor, assess and report on the learning achievements of every student. We provide an engaging curriculum that supports students who are experiencing learning difficulties, whilst also extending those students that have demonstrated success.
Reading, writing and oral language development is a high priority at St Mary’s. All students are individually assessed and monitored in this area, which allows teachers to target their teaching to meet the individual needs of all students. Mathematics is another key learning area, where students are individually assessed and taught according to their needs. Mathematics aims to develop proficiency in Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. Religious Education is also an integral part of the curriculum, which aims to deepen the students understanding of the Christian Story and Catholic Tradition.
Specialist Classes
In 2021, St Mary’s has also altered the structure of its specialist classes. This year all students will be involved in our ‘Specialist Day’ each Tuesday. On this day, students will participate in 45-minute lessons in Visual/Performing Arts, Physical Education and Indonesian. Visual Arts and Performing Arts will be taught on a termly rotation by Maria Moore. Visual Arts allows students to create visual artworks that communicate and express their ideas through varied mediums, whilst Performing Arts will support students to develop knowledge and skills in a broad range of art forms, including dance, drama and music. Physical Education will be taught by Anthony Sheedy and will provide students with the opportunity to learn a wide range of sport skills, with the aim of developing an enthusiasm for sport. Indonesian will be taught by Deb Owens and will focus on communication skills and developing an understanding of the role of language and culture in communication. The specialist program will provide great variety to our school curriculum.
The St Mary’s Community
St Mary’s prides itself on its community atmosphere and welcomes all families and friends to be involved in day-to-day school life. Whilst COVID-19 is still presenting its challenges in this regard, we are endeavouring to involve and inform parents as much as we can. With many COVID-19 protocols and safety measures still in place to ensure everyone’s safety, your support in these areas is essential when participating in school-based activities.
Liturgies
Our first small step towards welcoming you back as a part of school community will commence this Friday, 5th February with our school liturgy. The liturgy will be held in the Grade 4, 5 and 6 classroom and all parents are invited. At the liturgy this week, we will welcome our new Foundation students to St Mary’s and also announce our 2021 School Captains and School Leaders. If you are attending the liturgy you will need to enter through the school administration area and sign in using the QR code with your mobile phone. You will also be required to wear a face mask.
School Swimming Program
Our school swimming program will be held next week from Monday, 8th February through until Thursday, 11th February at the Yarram Pool. All students will be involved in a one-hour lesson each day, that focuses on water familiarisation and safety. You should have all received a note on Tuesday regarding this. Please make sure this note is returned as soon as possible if you have not already done so. Parents are welcome to attend and watch, however you will need to follow COVID safe protocols and sign in using the pools QR code. This swimming program will be an additional one and not replace our usual swimming program which will still be conducted at the Toora Pool in Term 4.
Family Picnic Night
Next Friday, 12th February, all families are invited to St Mary’s for a family picnic night from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. This will be a good opportunity for our school families to come together and celebrate the start of another year. Families are asked to bring their own food (maybe your favourite takeaway), drinks and picnic blanket. As this event will be held outside, please remember to dress for the conditions. All families will need to sign in using the schools QR code, practice good hygiene habits and eat in family groups. We hope to see you all there!
2021 School Closure Days
A number of school closure days have been set throughout the year to allow school staff to continue to develop their knowledge and skills and work on school improvement. The St Mary’s school closure days for 2021 are as follows:
Friday, 5th March
Friday, 30th April
Friday, 11th June
Friday, 30th July
Friday, 3rd September
Monday, 1st November
Friday, 17th December
Please put these dates on your calendar.
School Advisory Committee Meeting
Next Tuesday, 9th February at 5:15pm we will have our first School Advisory Committee meeting for 2021 in the Grade 2/3 classroom (last year’s meeting room). Those that are attending will need to sign in via the QR code at the front office and wear a mask. It would be great to see some new parents interested in joining the committee.
Equine Assisted Learning Program
Our Grade 6 students will be involved in an Equine Assisted Learning Program throughout Term 1. This program uses horses to develop leadership, communication and other core skills. Being able to provide this program for our Grade 6 leaders is a real asset to the school and we look forward to the experience and seeing these skills develop in our students. More information regarding this program will be shared with our Grade 6 parents in the near future.
Fun Events to Look Out for in Term 1
We have a number of fun events planned for Term 1. These include:
-The School Swimming Program
-The Equine Assisted Learning Program (Grade 6)
-Family Picnic Dinner
-World of Maths Incursion
-Trev McLean, author visit
-Clean Up Australia Day
-Icy Pole Friday