Mary's Mount Primary School
Term 1, Week 9 - 1 April 2022
PRINCIPAL'S NEWS
Dear Parents and Carers
We have spent time of late developing a common understanding of how we need to build resilience in children. We land ourselves in 2021. To date we have had the peak of the pandemic move through our community, floods in the east, and a tragic war on the other side of the world.
It is becoming obvious to me that most children are showing resilience. They have managed massive disruptions to every aspect of their lives, and most have coped. Families and schools have been able to teach and foster resilience at point-of-need. We have also been able to normalise getting help when their internal resources aren’t enough.
Life for our children has not been ‘normal’ for a while. The future is uncertain, and that has an impact on the way they perceive and plan for their lives.
WHAT CAN WE OFFER IN THE AREA OF HOPE?
Hope is not just a positive attitude. Often, we see inspirational posters saying, ‘you can be anything’. I find these quotes to be overly optimistic and full of empty promises. Hope, on the other hand is more complicated and has a sustained impact.
Charles Snyder was one of the pioneers of the positive psychology movement. He theorised that hope is having goal-orientated thoughts, a plan to achieve that goal, and the belief and motivation to achieve those goals.
Hope = Goal + Plan + Self-belief
A great example is entering a dance competition. It is important to have positive expectations of what you will achieve by entering the competition. We all like to be the winner! This can fill you with confidence, which is thin compared to hope. Hope is valuing the competition, attaining the necessary skills, practising, and having a real belief that winning is within your ability. Hope requires action, a positive attitude does not.
At school, part of our role is to partner with parents and help children develop a hope-filled approach to the future and launch them into the world.
The power of hope
Hope is identified by psychologists from the positive psychology movement as one of the five most empowering human attributes. The others are gratitude, kindness, love, and forgiveness.
Extensive research shows that hope has an impact on our:
- Physical health
- Mental health
- Academic success
- Self-esteem
- Life satisfaction
In fact, almost every aspect of life is improved by hope. So obviously this is something we want for our children.
The vital role of schools in creating hope
In the creation of hope, schools are fundamental. School is a child’s first world arena. It is their first step into life outside of the family.
Pre-pandemic, schools were able to provide community, experiences, and relationships. In this environment, our children started to see who they were and who they could be. Now it is time to reignite that hope.
At Mary’s Mount Primary School, we aspire to present learning and community-building experiences that can spark spirit, imagination, and hope. These life-affirming moments cost very little time, and their impact is profound. We are committed to investing in hope-giving moments for our community.
How can parents foster hope in their children?
1. Rebuild community involvement. When it is safe to do so, we need our young people to participate and be in the community with others. Our children need to see themselves beyond just their families and their classrooms.
2. Tell young people what hope is, and then show them. Articulate the hope you have for them and for yourself. Show them what the process of setting goals and working towards them looks like. Let them see failures and how they are overcome. Let them see the spirit in you manifest in action.
Finally…
These last few years have shown us the real value of schools and what they offer. It is the school's capacity to certainly teach skills and knowledge: however it is the development of living Gospel values and character development that is most important. It is the wider view of the world… and the hope that comes with it.
Inspired by Linda Stade, 2021
MAKE A MOVE ONLINE PERFORMANCE
I attended each class performance yesterday and I must say I was suitably impressed! The children have thrived this term in their participation in this extra-curriculum program. There was certainly a buzz of excitement and joy in each classes’ performance, as they saw the accumulation of collective effort, teamwork, and perseverance come together.
Mrs Muscat is in the process of editing the final online package. This will be shared with the Mary’s Mount Primary School community next week.
P&F EASTER RAFFLE
I would like to extend a big thank you to our P&F and especially the Year 2 parents for organising the Easter Raffle for 2022. I cannot wait to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they wait in anticipation at assembly next Friday, 1 April to see if they won a raffle prize! This is what community is all about. It is only through partnership with our parents and carers that we are able to run these types of events for our children and families to enjoy.
PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS
The interviews on Monday are a great opportunity for your child's teacher to establish with you how they are settling into the 2022 school year. This will be an opportunity for you to grow in your understanding of your child's work habits, connection with peers and how they are tracking.
All children from Kindy - Year 6 will finish the day at 12.30pm on Monday 4 April.
CONGRATULATIONS
I would like to wish Miss DeMarte best of luck for her wedding this weekend and many blessings for the future.
God bless
Emma Bell
Be the best part of someone else's day - Ben Crowe
TERM 1, WEEK 10 PLANNER
- Parent/Teacher Phone Interviews (your teacher will ring you)
- Make a Move Concert shared with families digitally
Tuesday 5 April
Wednesday 6 April
- 9am Easter Story Retold shared with families digitally
Thursday 7 April
- Year 6 Cricket Carnival
Friday 8 April - Last Day of Term 1
- 9am Merit Assembly & 2022 P&F Easter Raffle Draw via TEAMS
Saturday 9 April
Sunday 10 April
- Palm Sunday
** Term 2 Starts Tuesday 26 April 2022 **
BUY SUNFLOWER SEEDS FOR THE CHILDREN IN UKRAINE
One of our Year 6 students, Louisa recently met with Mrs Bell and spoke to her about her concern for the people of Ukraine. Even though we are so far away Louisa felt that something could be done to support the Ukrainian people during their time of need. She suggested a fund raiser. After a few heads together it was decided that we would sell our sunflower seeds that were recently harvested from our sunflower garden to our school community and extended community.
As from Friday 1st April they will be on sale on the table outside our school office. A donation tin will be there to place your money. All the seed packets were beautifully decorated individually by all our Year 6 students.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Together we make a difference.
PARENT / TEACHER INTERVIEWS - Monday 4 April
Interviews this year will take place via TELEPHONE. Your child's teacher will ring you at the set time.
The smooth running of our parent-teacher interviews relies on all parents keeping to the timetable. Please consider other parents and end on time. If you need more time with a particular teacher, arrange a separate meeting or phone call.
Students are not expected to attend the appointment with you.
If you haven't yet made an appointment time, please do so by 4pm tomorrow (Friday) as bookings will be closed then.
To make an interview time please go to www.schoolinterviews.com.auand enter the code v9twk and reserve a time with your child’s teacher.
TERM 2 UNIFORM CHANGES
There are a few changes in Term 2 including the introduction of culottes, and the change to the wearing of the school tie - only required at formal events when representing MMPS.
The information below can be found in the MMPS Parent Handbook on our school website here.
PRE-ORDER YOUR CULOTTS NOW
Price: $50.00
Sizes available: 4 to 16. There are also some quarter sizes available in between.
The new culottes are being introduced via a phased-in approach. As students in Year 1 will be required to wear the MMPS winter uniform for the first time this year, Year 1 students are to commence wearing the new culottes next term.
All other students will have the next 18 months to transition to the culottes when the grey pinafore will be phased out and all students from 2024 will be required to wear the new culottes.
Please note, the grey pinafore can still be worn by students in Years 2 to Year 6 until 2024 and can still be purchased from the uniform shop - now at the reduced price of $25 each.
The new culottes will be available online via quickcliq from this weekend for pre-orders. Orders will be delivered next Term when they arrive. Students in Year 1 can continue to wear their summer uniform for the first two weeks of term which is a grace period between uniform transitions while waiting for the new culottes to arrive.
TRY-ONS / SIZE CHECKING
We invite families to come to the Uniform shop to have a look at the sizing of the new culottes. Priority was given to Year 1 families today (Thursday).
Thursday (today)
3.10pm - 3.30pm
Friday 1 April
8am - 8.30am & 3.10pm - 3.30pm
Monday 4 April
8am - 8.30am & 12.30pm - 12.50pm
Tuesday 5 April
8am - 8.30am & 3.10pm - 3.30pm
If you have any questions, please contact the school office.
LAST CALL FOR 3K and 4K 2023 ENROLMENTS
We have begun the process for 2023 enrolments for 3 Year Old Kindy and 4 Year Kindy for 2023. If you have a child ready to start Kindy next year, please ensure you have submitted an application form ASAP to ensure you don't miss out.
Starting 3 Year Old Kindy in 2023: Children Born – 1 July 2019 – 30 June 2020
Starting 4 Year Old Kindy in 2023 : Children Born – 1 July 2018 – 30 June 2019
If you have any questions about this process or enrolment for 2023, please contact me via the school office.
Gabby Hoffmann
Administration
2022 STUDENT DATA COLLECTION FORM
Mary's Mount Primary School, along with other Catholic, Independent and Government schools, collects Student Background Data (SBD) on behalf of the Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
The data collected is for calculating the Index of Socio Educational Advantage (SEA) model that determines schools that qualify for special assistance.
This information was provided by parents and guardians when your child first enrolled at Mary's Mount Primary School. It is important this information is kept up to date which is why we ask families to resubmit this information every few years. Please complete the attached form via the link below (also emailed) by Monday 4 April, 2022.
MMPS Student Data Collection Form Link
Collected information will be confidential and used for its intended purpose only. No individual person or school will be identifiable and linked with the results.
We appreciate your support and cooperation to achieving this outcome through our data collection. If there are some questions regarding the data requested, please feel free to contact us to discuss. We may be contacted via 9290 5200 or admin@mmps.wa.edu.au.
UPDATED IMMUNISATION HISTORY STATEMENTS
For parents with children in 4 Year Old Kindy and Pre-Primary
It is a requirement we have a record of your child’s updated immunisation history statement on file. If/when your child has completed their 4 Year Old vaccination program, can you please send an updated copy of their immunisation statement to the office via admin@mmps.wa.edu.au so we can update our records.
Note – we do not require evidence of COVID vaccination. This update is only for the Childhood Immunisation Schedule.
Administration
P&F NEWS
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our meeting last week. A copy of the minutes can be found via the document link below.
Please also remember to return your Easter Raffle tickets and donations by tomorrow at the latest if you haven't done so yet.
MMPS P&F Committee
SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKER CORNER
Mindfulness is simply a practice that helps us to get better at focusing on the present and what surrounds us, rather than spending too much time thinking about the past or worrying about what the future will bring.
There is much research focussed on the impact of mindfulness and evidence to suggest that regular mindfulness practice can assist our mental health and wellbeing, focus and attention. This is true for both adults and children. Like any new skill it takes practice to develop the skill and the more we practice the easier it becomes for us to use mindfulness to help us find a place of calm when life is stressful, and we experience overwhelming emotions.
‘Smiling Mind’ is a free app that provides mindfulness programs for children and adults. It is very user-friendly and there many engaging and interesting mindfulness exercises for children of different ages.
If mindfulness is not something that you have tried before and you would like to have calmer in your interactions within your home, I encourage you to give it a go! You could try downloading the ‘Smiling Mind’ app and do some mindfulness exercises with your children.
The links below will take you to the Smiling Mind app on both Apple and Google Play.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/smiling-mind/id560442518
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smilingmind.app&hl=en_AU
Mrs Julie Merrells
Social Worker
CANTEEN NEWS - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
CANTEEN CLOSED TOMORROW FRIDAY 1 APRIL
Sorry for the short notice, but unfortunately the canteen with be closed tomorrow, Friday 1 April (and no, this isn't an April Fools).
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - PLEASE :-)
Our students love to order from the canteen, and Fridays are a busy hive of activity but we can't do it without volunteers. So please consider helping out on a Friday, even a few hours will be greatly appreciated.
So if you can help out on any of the Fridays below, please either contact Angeline or email admin@mmps.wa.edu.au and we will pass your information on.
Friday 8 April
Friday 29 April
Friday 6 May
Friday 13 May
Thank you.
Angeline Biggin
YEAR 5 BOYS BRINGING HOPE
Noah and Adam, two of our Year 5 students are raising money for the Starlight Foundation this Saturday. Alongside their cricket team they will be playing cricket for 24 hours… from 10:30am on Saturday – 10:30am on Sunday.
If you would like to help them reach their goal, you can click on the link below.
https://starlightfundraisers.org.au/net24/
Good luck boys!
COMMUNITY NEWS
LA SALLE COLLEGE
La Salle College is an innovative Catholic co-education secondary school guided by our Lasallian principles.
The uniqueness of every individual is embraced at our College and our safe, inclusive and welcoming environment enables everyone to learn and flourish in their own distinctive way.
At La Salle College we offer a range of learning programs and academic pathways, as well as opportunities in a multitude of areas such as skill-based and work-based learning, music, arts, sport and extracurricular activities.
Our wonderful facilities and generous outdoor spaces provide an innovative and modern learning environment that inspires our students to explore their potential both within and beyond the classroom.
Our vision for learning is centred on Transforming tomorrow’s hearts, minds and lives.
Through our faith, culture of excellence, values and systems, we equip our students with the tools they need to become life-long learners and positive contributors, voices and leaders in the community beyond their College days.
To learn more about a La Salle College education visit our website at www.lasalle.wa.edu.au.
HOLY FAMILY PARISH
Mary’s Mount Primary School is the parish school for Holy Family Church in Kalamunda.
Fr Suresh celebrates mass at the beginning of each term, for solemnities and special feast days and offers reconciliation to students who are preparing to receive their Sacraments.
Parish Priest : Fr Antony Suresh
Parish Secretary : Mary Syme
Current Parish Bulletin : https://holyfamilykalamunda.org.au/?page_id=132
Email: kalamunda@perthcatholic.org.au
Website: www.holyfamilykalamunda.org.au
Location: 2 Burt Street, Kalamunda WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9293 1646
Facebook: facebook.com/holyfamily
MARY'S MOUNT PRIMARY SCHOOL
Email: admin@mmps.wa.edu.au
Website: www.mmps.wa.edu.au
Location: 47 Davies Crescent, Gooseberry Hill WA, Australia
Phone: 08 9290 5200
Facebook: facebook.com/marysmount