Term 4, Week 9 Friday 13th December 2024

Thank you to everyone for your support during the year!

We had a lovely graduation liturgy and ceremony for your Year 6 students last night.  We wish them all the best as they move on to their new adventures in High School.

We appreciate everyone’s flexibility in moving our Community Event to Monday, due to the extreme weather conditions.  Thank you especially to Ms Roper for organising this at short notice.

On Tuesday, all the students spent some time in their 2025 classes with their new teachers. It was great to hear the positive chatter about what they are looking forward to next year.  It is important that children develop new friendships and take some risks in a safe environment, building their resilience.

Positive conversations about transitions are vital to assist your child build resilience and face new challenges.

Remember, your child’s best support may be someone they have not yet met!

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed Christmas season with families and friends. We look forward to welcoming back all students on Tuesday 28^th January 2025.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kelly Campbell
Principal

We farewell and thank Julie McGrane as she returns to the Department for Education. 

We also thank Greg Parker for establishing and running our gifted and talented program over the past 2 years.

Thank you to Lynne Osborn for stepping into Year 6 for term 4, your support of students in their last term of school was very much appreciated.

We also thank Mikki Barquin for her role in Preschool during Semester 2.  We hope that Mikki will continue to be connected with our Preschool team!

We especially thank and farewell Ann Lang.  Ms Lang has been a member of staff at SMMS since 1999 and has worked in Catholic Education SA since 1979.  Her dedication to the children and this community has been immense.  Those who were in her class will remember her love of literacy, big books, craft and creativity in all activities. 

Ms Lang loved a good dress up day for Book Week and always made sure every child was included in all activities.

Her support for true welcome and inclusion in our community has been amazing, fostering a sense of identity through multicultural events, especially the mid-Autumn Festivals.

She always has the child at the centre of everything that she does.

We will miss her wisdom and nurturing of our children, especially the youngest members of our community.

We hope that she will continue to be connected to our school community next year.

2025 Staff

Preschool                    Maria Iovino                Chloe Van Mourik (+Occasional Care)
Reception                    Michelle Leonardi       Olivia Ventura             Michaela Cekavicius
Year 1                          Ben Smedley/Rebecca Braidwood (Nick Rylander Wks 1-5)
                                    Anna Verbi/Gina Armiento
Year 2                          Kellie Byrne                 Nicky Watson
Year 3                          Julia Vassallo               Kylie Rivera
Year 4                          Lucy Centofanti           Joseph Fuda/Patricia Monti
Year 5/6                       Charlotte Harms         Claire Dunlop (Greig Graham on leave)
                                    Sarah Carritt
EAL/D                          Lucy Krause
PE                               Celeste Brown
Performing Arts           Selina Roper
Italian                          Gina Armiento
STEM                          Ben Smedley
Gifted and Talented     Nadia Chitti
Student Support          Rosie Barbon               Nikki Calabro              Daniela Fiala
                                    Carly Antiuschka         Bethany Newhouse     Sandra Shepherd
                                    Adrienne Locke           Tali Anderson              Vicky Manalo
                                   Julia Pollifrone (Preschool)
Resource Centre        Katherine McCullough
Finance Officer          Jane Victory
Administration            Angela Curthoys          Pennie Blazely
School Counsellor     Solina Merlino
WHS                          Frank Massalsky
Playgroup                  Vicky Manalo
Occasional Care        Chloe Van Mourik
Principal                     Kelly Campbell
Assistant Principal     Belinda Elliott
APRIM                       Matthew Harrison

Dear Families

The end of the school year is upon us and Christmas is not far away! I hope your Christmas shopping is going well, and Santa has received the letters from the children. 🎅

End of Year Community Event – Thank You
We were happy that we were able to host the Community Event on Monday after the hot weather caused the cancellation of our event last Thursday. We hope you enjoyed the live performances or via the videos shared on SeeSaw. It was great to see the students enjoying the songs from many different countries in our ‘Christmas Around the World’ theme.

Special thanks to Selina Roper for teaching the students the songs and movements and for her organisation of the music and performances. Many thanks also to the staff for their efforts and support leading up to the event and on Monday too.

Merry Christmas
I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you get to enjoy some time off in December/January.

I’ll look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 28 January when the 2025 school year starts.

Many thanks for your support across the year.

Stay safe and enjoy!

Belinda

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As our 2024 school year comes to completion, we also prepare for the third week in the Season of Advent. This Sunday, we light the rose candle, representing ‘Joy,’ the overwhelming sense of joy that the birth of Jesus offers each of us.

End of Year Mass
On Friday 8 December, we celebrated our End of Year Thanksgiving Mass. In his homily, Fr Charles spoke to the children about being thankful for the many blessings we have received this year. To be grateful for the experiences shared and the people who care for us. It was wonderful to see so many families join us in thanksgiving.

Ceremony of Light
Following Mass, we acknowledged the leadership of our students with the annual ‘Ceremony of Light.’ We expressed our gratitude for the many ways our Year 6 leaders, have drawn on the light of Christ through their service. In the Ceremony, this light was symbolically passed on to the Year 5 students, our leaders in 2025.

Vinnies Christmas Appeal
On behalf of Sr Catherine and St Vincent de Paul, I would like to thank everyone for their enormous generosity throughout the term. We were blown away by the volume of donations placed under our Vinnies ‘Giving Tree.’ This week, Vinnies volunteers are combining all parish donations into Christmas baskets, ready to deliver to families across Adelaide in their mission to ‘bring Joy of Christmas to as many families as possible.’

Year 6 Graduation
On Tuesday 10 December, we celebrated the contributions of our Year 6 students with a Graduation Liturgy of the Word. The Parish Hall was filled with families and staff surrounding our graduates with love, support and sincere gratitude for the many ways in which each of our leaders has shared their gifts in service to our school community. As part of the liturgy, Rahmah, John, Alicia and Grace C gave heartfelt reflections speaking authentically about the special place St Margaret Mary’s School will hold in their hearts.

Christmas Eve Vigils

• English Family Mass: Tuesday, 24 December at 6.30pm in St Margaret Mary’s Church (Carols from 6.00pm)
• Vietnamese Mass: Tuesday, 24 December at 7.00pm in Mater Dei Church (Carols from 6.00pm)
• English Night Mass: Tuesday, 24 December at 10.00pm in Mater Dei Church (Carols from 9.30pm)

Christmas Day Masses

• English Mass: Wednesday, December 25th at 8.30am in St Patrick’s Church
• Polish Mass: Wednesday, December 25th at 8.30am in St Margaret Mary’s Church
• English Mass: Wednesday, December 25th at 10.30am in St Margaret Mary’s Church

From all of us at St Margaret Mary’s School, have a Merry Christmas, enjoy your time with friends and loved ones and have a safe and happy start to the new year. See you all in 2025.

Matthew Harrison 
APRIM

Kids Club Yoga & Mindfulness has been a huge success this year . The benefits of yoga poses , breathwork and mindfulness strategies have made a significant difference to all the students who have attended throughout the year. 

Looking forward to offering Yoga Club again in 2025. 

From our heart to yours,
Namaste.
Gina Armiento & Kids Club Yoga Group 

The Year 3-6 students had a visit from the exuberant and talented Nitro Nat. Nitro Nat visited St Margaret Mary’s Primary School on Friday 22nd November to present her science show Supreme States of Matter with Liquid Nitrogen.

The students were extremely fascinated by this mesmerizing substance called Liquid Nitrogen and its properties. What is liquid nitrogen and how can it freeze an onion in 20 seconds? We discovered that nitrogen has the chemical symbol N on the periodic table and that it is naturally a gas that makes up 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere. We watched nitrogen change from its liquid state of matter into a gaseous state as we understood that when nitrogen is stored below minus 196 degrees Celsius it is a liquid and as it meets room temperature it evaporates to form a gas.

The students watched many experiments that demonstrated the powers of liquid nitrogen showing its extreme coldness to instantly freeze a rubber ball, onions and contract a metal ball, rod and monkey balloon the students named Jamal.

At the end, the students formed a circle and Nitro Nat safely poured the remaining liquid nitrogen into a 52-litre bin and watched as the evaporating substance formed clouds around us. Students discovered the gas was completely odourless, colourless and tasteless, yet in its liquid form has super powers to freeze away warts and cause frost bite.

The students had a great time watching Science in action!

Calling all campers! SPIN kids camp is a four-day, three-night Christian camp for years 4-6. Join us for a week of fun, games and faith at Camp Kedron, Barmera (private bus transport available from Adelaide). 

The camp runs from 14-18^th January 2025. First-time campers cost only $50!

To register your child for camp, either use the QR code in the flyer, or click on this link: https://www.blueprintministries.org.au/camps/spin/