Term 2, Week 3 Friday 19th May 2023

It has been wonderful to welcome Belinda Elliott to our community this week.  Belinda has commenced her role as Assistant Principal this week.  Belinda has great experience in leading teaching and learning across Catholic Education SA and is really looking forward to meeting everyone and working with students and teachers.

We also welcome Solina as our new student counsellor.  Solina commenced last week and has met with many of our children already.  If you believe your child would benefit from a visit with Solina, please contact your child’s teacher or the front office.

Tournament of Minds
As a part of our Gifted and Talented Program at St Margaret Mary’s School, we are taking part in the Tournament of Minds. Tournament of Minds is a creative, problem-solving tournament in which teams solve complex Problems / Challenges and make a 10 min presentation to judges (comprised of educators, industry leaders and university academics).  Tournament of Minds is a problem solving program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. Tournament's aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.

Mr Parker will be coaching and facilitating our inaugural team for their competition in September at Adelaide High School.

Congratulations to the following yr 5/6 students for being selected in our team:

Markus, Edmund, Nancy, Yukti, Adam, Joshua and Alexis.

You can find out more about Tournament of Minds at https://tom.edu.au/about

Catholic Education Week – #WeLoveOurCatholicSchool
This week is Catholic Education Week and we are celebrating the things we love about our Catholic School Community.

It is an opportunity to reflect on what makes the community at St Margaret Mary’s School and Preschool so unique.  Over the week, many staff and students have shared what they love about our school – check out our Facebook Page to see some reflections.

Over the week, I have also reflected about what I love about our school.  I love that we know every child and family.  I love our children and the enthusiasm they show for learning and each other.  I also feel very privileged to be able to support our children when things are challenging.  I love our families and how they always support their children and our community.  I love our staff and how they are dedicated to everyone in our community and work tirelessly to improve student learning and wellbeing.

I love the incredible diversity, inclusivity and welcoming nature of St Margaret Mary’s School and Preschool.

I especially love greeting the children as they arrive at school – the smiles and beautiful greetings make every day a joy!

Thank you for your continued support

Kelly Campbell

Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you for the warm welcome I have received since joining your wonderful community. I am truly grateful to be joining St Margaret Mary’s School and Preschool as Acting Assistant Principal.

Allow me to take this opportunity to tell you a little about myself; My name is Belinda Elliott. I join you having come from the Catholic Education Office where I was a System Coach, working alongside school leadership teams on areas such as Literacy and Numeracy. Prior to that I was a classroom teacher and leader at St Joseph’s School, Hectorville. I also worked for the University of Adelaide at Children’s University Australasia. I have been in education for over 25 years and love being a part of supporting children and young people in their educational journey.

My husband Brenton and I have 2 children, Zac is in Year 12 and Amity is in Year 9. We are avid sports fans and on weekends you will find us at football, netball, basketball, and cricket, depending on the season.

I look forward to meeting you and working alongside you, and the school staff, in supporting your child to thrive as a capable learner.

Once again, thank you for the warm welcome.

Enjoy the weekend, and best wishes for the weeks ahead.

Belinda Elliott

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week is Catholic Education Week (Monday 15 May to Sunday 21 May) alongside our acknowledgement of Laudato Si Week (Tuesday 16 May to Tuesday 24 May). Catholic Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the excellent teaching and learning that happens in our Catholic schools every day and also a chance to reflect on and highlight what makes our Catholic schools so special. Laudato Si Week, recognises and celebrates the ways we bring Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical to life, how we take action to care for our shared home, the Earth, and each other. Our connections to these themes flow through the following:

Early Years Liturgies
Last week our Receptions gathered for their Term 2 liturgy with the theme of ‘Celebrating Together.’ Our Receptions sung with joy and energy, read confidently into the microphone and learnt actions to a special prayer that Jesus taught us, ‘The Our Father.’ We especially thank the families who were able to join us for this celebration and to Ms Braidwood and Ms Leonardi for helping to prepare the students.

We continue to extend an invitation to join us for our upcoming liturgies:

• Year 1 Liturgy - Monday 29 May (Week 5) at 11:30am in St Margaret Mary’s Church
• Year 2 Liturgy - Monday 5 June (Week 6) at 11:30am in St Margaret Mary’s Church

Student Initiative
We would like to congratulate Abrihet and Kayleen from Year 3/4 for their initiative and leadership in caring for our school environment. The girls arranged two consecutive lunch time meetings to discuss practical ideas that would help students to care for our school environment. This resulted in follow up conversations with Ms Ventura and Ms Verbi to request an opportunity to speak at the Year 1 Assembly in Week 2. In preparation, we co-constructed a speech to share their ideas as well as some practical tips for using the different coloured bins we have in our school effectively. After addressing the assembly, Abrihet and Kayleen received a round of applause from their peers, teachers and parents. Well done girls!

Moore Street Soup Run
On Tuesday 16 May, our Year 3-6 Student Leadership Team (SLT) prepared our first soup. We gathered in prayer, expressing our gratitude for the many blessings we receive. Together we discussed why we might make a soup that we can’t eat and for people that we don’t know.  In response, our leaders expressed the importance of caring for the poor and homeless and that we can contribute to the Moore Street Soup Run and help to provide a warm meal to those in need.  As in any busy kitchen, we were each responsible for preparing, washing, cooking or cleaning up. We were very grateful for the families who donated pumpkin, sweet potato, onion and potato donations to the Front Office. All donated vegetables were used to create about 10 litres of delicious pumpkin and sweet potato soup for Moore Street. For any families that are able to donate vegetables we will be preparing a potato and leek soup next.

Servant Leadership Program
On the 30 May, Year 6 students from St Margaret Mary’s and Whitefriars will join together at Whitefriars for the Journey to Emmaus Program. Through this program and with the support of guest presenters, the students will discern how they can show leadership qualities by engaging in initiatives that provide a service to others. One of the presenters Sr Catherine, is the Croydon Park Parish Vinnies representative. Sr Catherine is delighted to share with the Year 6 students some of the ways they can support the Vinnies Winter Appeal. In preparation, Sr Catherine stopped by earlier this week, to meet Isabella and Helena from Year 6 to offer a lesson in the art of crocheting blanket squares. We appreciated one to one support, and agree that we will keep practicing to grow in confidence. We look forward to providing further updates on the Year 6 engagement in this program in upcoming newsletters.

Sacramental Program
On Wednesday 10 May we held a Confirmation Information Meeting at Whitefriars. Those who attended received a Confirmation booklet of activities to support families in their preparation as well as some general information regarding the following dates:

Please email matthew.harrison@smms.catholic.edu.au or contact the parish office on         8346 0944 if you have any further questions.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Please note that Qkr! have advised that there is an issue with Android phones which is being addressed by their tech team and "will take a couple of weeks to resolve". If you are having problems with Qkr! please see the Qkr website: https://qkr-store.qkrschool.com/store/#/home

Thank you for your patience.