Term 1, Week 7 Friday 15th March 2024

MASTER PLANNING

We want to hear your thoughts!

On Monday 18^th March from 3pm, Lisa from Detail Studio, will be at school to meet with any parents/carers to gather your thoughts on our future direction for infrastructure and facilities in our school.  Just 10 minutes is all we need!  We’d love as many thoughts and ideas as we can gather.

Please come along to the space near the stairs after pick up time.

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Last Friday, our staff were involved in professional learning during the student free day.  Our ESOs worked with Mark LeMessurier exploring Compassionate Mentorship with Children: themes around neurodiversity (Autism/ADHD), emotion, behaviour, connection and wellbeing.  You can find some excellent resources about supporting your children at www.marklemessurier.com.au

Our teaching staff spent the day exploring different aspect of Mathematics, including fractions and processes of calculating.  This professional learning supports one of our major goals in our Annual Improvement Plan, improving the outcomes in students mathematical learning.

ENROLMENTS

We are currently finalising our Term 3 Reception enrolment intake.  If you know of anyone who may interested in finding out more about this intake and how St Margaret Mary’s can support their child’s education, please ask them to contact Angela ASAP (8245 5800, info@smms.catholic.edu.au or www.smms.catholic.edu.au).

Early next term we will commence our Term 1 Reception 2025 intake interviews.  We have limited spaces available, so please contact Angela about this class as well.

CYBERSAFETY

I strongly encourage all families to attend the CyberSafety workshop offered on Monday 24^th March.  Please see more information later in the newsletter.

LONG SERVICE LEAVE

I will be taking long service leave, commencing on Friday 23^rd March and will return on Monday 6^th May.  I wish everyone a very happy Easter and safe time over the school break.  I am looking forward to returning early next term.

Thank you for your continued support,
Kelly Campbell

The term is flying by! Our staff and students are well and truly into the swing of things, and it has been fantastic to see all the learning that has been taking place both inside and outside the classroom. We are looking forward to seeing you next week at the Parent Teacher Learning Conversations.

PARENT TEACHER LEARNING CONVERSATIONS
Next week, Monday 18 – Friday 22 March we will be hosting the Parent Teacher Learning Conversations each morning and/or afternoon. If you have not yet made a time to see your child/children’s teacher, please contact Angela in the Front Office ASAP to make a time. We look forward to sharing your child’s learning progress with you and celebrating their achievements so far this year. (Greig Graham, Olivia Ventura, Anna Verbi and Patricia Monti will be unavailable next week – please contact Angela in the Front Office if you need to make a time with these teachers.)

SPORTS DAY
Information was sent out to all families yesterday regarding our upcoming Sport Day on Thursday 4 April at Bridgestone Athletics Centre, Frost Road, Salisbury. The letter contained 2 slips/forms that we need all students to return (bus information and consent) by Friday 22 March. All students Reception to Year 6 will travel by bus with school staff. Families then have the choice to collect their child/children from the venue or for the children to travel back to school by bus, to then collect them from St Margaret Mary’s as you usually would at 3pm. Preschool will also participate in Sports Day, and separate arrangements and information has been shared with all Preschool families. Please contact Maria Iovino for further information.

Parent/carers are more than welcome to join us at Sports Day and the letter contains information about your attendance. We are also asking for parent volunteers to assist staff during the Sports Day events. If you are a registered volunteer, have a Catholic Working with Children Check and would like to help, please let your child’s teacher know or email me belinda.elliott@smms.catholic.edu.au

EASTER RAFFLE
Thank you for your support of the Easter Raffle. Ticket sales are booming! There’s a lot of excitement and interest from our children and families, but unfortunately, we don’t yet have enough donations for prizes for the raffle. We would really appreciate any donations of Easter Chocolates or Easter Craft. Please place your donations in the basket in the entrance foyer – many thanks to those families who have already donated to the raffle 🐰. The Raffle will be drawn on Holy Thursday, 28 March.

Thank you for your on-going support. I’ll look forward to seeing many of you next week.

Belinda

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

I hope all our families had an enjoyable long weekend and managed to stay as cool as possible. This week, we made the decision to cancel our Primary Years, Caritas Kilometres walk. Unfortunately, due to the high temperatures over the long weekend, we needed to make a decision on the event before the pupil free day. As a result, this will now turn our Project Compassion fundraising efforts to Sports Day for a ‘House Walk’ event.

Year 6 Leadership
On Wednesday 6 March, the Year 6 House Captains presented their first House Meetings for students from Reception to Year 6. Our leaders focused on the school value of compassion and introduced their creative House Chants for 2024. We are very proud of the courage shown by our House Captains to present to their House audiences. With a few more rehearsals, we look forward to seeing the chants of each House at Sports Day.

Term 1 Liturgies
On Thursday 7 March, the Receptions, Year 1 and Year 2 classes celebrated their Term 1 Liturgy of the Word. The Early Years liturgy focused on the ways we can love God by caring for each other. Thank you to all the students who read so beautifully, our classes for their joyous singing and to the families who were able to join us for this occasion. Our Primary Years Liturgy for our Year 3 to Year 6 classes will be held this Tuesday 19 March at 1:30pm. The theme of our Liturgy of the Word will be The Feast of Saint Joseph. As always, we warmly invite any families who are able to join us in this celebration.

Sacramental Program 
First Reconciliation Ceremonies will be held on Saturday 16 March and Saturday 23 March at 11:00am in St Margaret Mary’s Church. Over the next two weeks, Alessandra, Patrick, Phi Khoa, Tammy, Antony, Victoria, Kalista, Ngan, Raymond, Aryan, Hannah, Thomas, Lani and Tarja will receive the Sacrament for the first time. Please keep our young people and their families in our prayers. If you have any questions regarding Reconciliation, the Parish Sacramental Program or the workbook please contact Croydon Park Parish or email matthew.harrison@smms.catholic.edu.au . 

Whole School Fundraiser 
On Thursday 4 April, all Preschool to Year 6 athletes will be invited to join in our Caritas fundraiser at Sports Day. This fundraising event will be called the ‘House Walk’ and families are most welcome to join us as we walk a lap of the Sports Day track in our Houses. Those who are able are encouraged to offer a gold coin donation on the day. Every student that participates in the walk will receive a wristband, ‘I walked for Caritas – SMMS 2024.’

All Project Compassion Boxes returned to the office will be added to the House Walk donations received at Sports Day.

Have a good weekend everyone!
Matthew Harrison

Year 2 students have been learning & practising Carnevale vocabulary.  

Gina Armiento
Italian Teacher 

Year 1SB mathematicians are exploring linear patterns using a variety of different materials.  We represented our patterns on whiteboards, with nuts and bolts, unifix cubes and with musical instruments. 

Thankyou to our many families who have paid their term one fees.  Reminders will go out shortly.   Do you still need to apply for School Card assistance or are you looking to set up a payment or needing some help?   Please come and see me anytime.  I can also help if you would like to make payments direct from your Centrelink account.

If paying via BPay could you please use your BPay number located on the bottom left hand corner of your statement and include your family ID which is located top right hand side of your statement.

We’d hate your payment to go to the wrong family!

Invoices for Yr 6 jackets have gone out separately as have invoices for basketball and choir.  Soccer invoices will go out when we have finalized teams.

Many thanks,

Jane Victory
Finance Officer
accounts@smms.catholic.edu.au

Sometimes children need to borrow spare clothes from school.

Our stock of spare clothes is running low as our spares have not been returned.  If you have any school spare clothes at home, please return them and if your child comes home having had an accident at school please remember to return our spares. 

Thank you!  Pennie

Book Club Issue 2, 2024 is out now.

Due date for orders is 19^th March.

ALL orders done online via Book Club LOOP.

Find out how on Page 31 of your magazine (payments will not be accepted at school).

The Qkr! Android phones issue has now been resolved - you can now download the Qkr! App to your Android phone from the Google Play Store.  Thank you for your patience with this.

Please check your child/s bag for the Cyber Safety note, asking you to nominate how many family members will be attending.

Rebecca Braidwood
Leader of Learning