Term 2, Week 7 Friday 17th June 2022

Despite the weather, we had a great day last Friday for our annual Sports Day!  Thank you to Ms Brown and Mr Graham for their organisation and planning, as well as all staff and amazing parent volunteers.  At all times our students were great sports, and it was fantastic to see them all cheering each other on. Well done to our Sports Captains for their leadership throughout the day. It was our first time at Bridgestone Athletics Centre and there were multiple changes to the program during the day due to the rain.  Thank you for the feedback you have provided us. 

Congratulations to YELLOW for winning the Athletics Cup and BLUE for winning the Spirit Cup.

On Sunday we celebrated Family Mass at the 10.30am Parish Mass.  Once a month, families are especially invited to attend this Mass and we encourage children to actively lead prayers and readings for this Mass.  These Masses are always advertised through the Parish bulletin. After Mass on Sunday we invited parishioners to have a look inside our buildings, we are very grateful for their patience and flexibility during our long building project.  Parishioners agreed that our school is a wonderful asset to the children and families of our parish.

We are currently working with Design Well to finalise our plans for the basketball courts and new playground.  Once we have met again with the students for consultation, we will be able to share these plans with you.  It will be fantastic to revitalise our play space for the children – there will be some mess and inconvenience during the upgrade, but it will be worth it!

Transition for children starting Term 3 Reception/Foundation and Preschool is well underway.  We are finalising our enrolments and have limited places still available.  If you know of someone who may be interested, please contact the front office.

A reminder to continue to notify the office if your child has tested positive for COVID.  If your child is displaying symptoms, please keep them home and arrange for a PCR test.  Further information can be found at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/covidtesting

Thank you for your continued support,

Kelly Campbell

Thank you for your support of Sports Day! The children had a wonderful time and were so excited to be out and about and having fun together. There were certainly some very tired children at the end of the day!

The days are getting colder, and the children are loving our new beanies! If you would like to buy a beanie or any other uniform, the Uniform Shop is open on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. It is wonderful to see the children keeping warm and active in their uniforms!

Many events are now able to return to normal. We have been very lucky that we have been able to join together as a whole school for assemblies in the last few weeks. The children enjoy sharing their learning and having the opportunity to lead the assembly for the whole school. We have also been able to celebrate Mass in the Church as class groups. This week I was able to join the Year 4/5 classes as they celebrated Mass with the parishioners. It is wonderful to be a part of these events with the children. Please feel welcome to come along to Assemblies and Masses when you see them advertised.

We have many ways to stay connected at St Margaret Mary’s School.

Every class uses SeeSaw to share students learning and information with families. Newsletters are posted to the school’s website every fortnight to keep families informed of what is happening in the school.

We have our school’s Facebook page, which we encourage you to like and follow. Facebook is used by the school to share learning, achievements and events that are happening within the school community.

We also use QKR! to order lunches. This is a very quick and simple way to order your child’s lunch. 

If you need help accessing any of these apps, please talk to Angela or your child’s teacher.

Teachers are currently finishing off the writing of the Semester 1 Student Reports. The teachers spend a lot of time working on these reports in order to give families a clear understanding of their child’s progress and learning. These will go out to families in Week 10.

Take care and stay warm!

Alicia Boylan
Assistant Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Thank you to everybody who contributed to Caritas Project Compassion this year.  We were able to send $839.10 to Caritas, who are very grateful for our support.

Last Sunday, we celebrated a Family Mass in St Margaret Mary’s Church and the Feast of the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one God. Following the Mass, parishioners were invited to come and see the new light filled learning spaces that have been created as a result of our extensive building development.

This Sunday is the Feast of Corpus Christi or Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Every Mass is a Eucharistic celebration. The Word Eucharist is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘thanksgiving.' The Eucharist is the gift of Jesus in the form of consecrated bread and wine. This gift Jesus first offered to his disciples at The Last Supper. Receiving the Eucharist in Mass is also referred to as receiving Communion.

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

On Thursday 9 June, our senior and junior Student Leadership Teams (SLTs) hosted a morning assembly in the parish hall to launch our St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) Winter Appeal ‘can food drive.’ The older leaders buddied with the younger leaders to raise their peers awareness of the many ‘good works’ carried out by Vinnies and the ways in which the Society helps families in need through the support and generosity of families and communities like ours. Our student leaders presented an interactive assembly that involved questions, games and quizzes for their audience.

For those who are able, we are seeking your support to help the children bring in a can of food to donate from your family to another family in need. Following the assembly, our SLT representatives placed a Vinnies Winter Appeal basket in every classroom and it has been exciting to see the donations across the school already starting to build up.

The baskets will remain in the classrooms until Monday 4 July (Week 10). Thank you for your ongoing generosity.

Year 4 and Year 5 Mass

On Thursday 16 June (Week 7), our three Year 4/5 classes gathered to celebrate a Mass with our families and parishioners.  The theme of our Mass was ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit.’ Our celebrant was Fr Franco, a visiting priest who spoke to the children about the Trinity being a mystery of Faith. In his homily, Fr Franco helped the children to relate the Holy Trinity to family. The Father is like parents, the Son is like siblings and the Holy Spirit is like the love that comes from the parents and siblings.

Special thanks to Fr Franco for presiding and to our Year 4/5 teachers and the students for their joyous participation in the celebration.

Sacramental Workshop

On Monday 20 June (Week 8), fifteen candidates will attend a full day Sacramental Workshop at Whitefriars Catholic School. On the day our students will engage in activities with the other candidates from Whitefriars, St Patrick and the parish. The activities will explore the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

Students are asked to bring a bag with their Confirmation Book, a pencil case, drink bottle and recess / fruit snacks. A pizza lunch will be provided on the day.

All candidates are asked to be dropped off at school no later than 9:00am as we will be leaving for Whitefriars by bus shortly after. Following the workshop, we will be returning by bus at 2:30pm and picked up in the afternoon will remain as usual. We look forward to sharing our experiences in the next newsletter.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone,

Matt Harrison
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission