Dear Parents & Caregivers

Big News

Recently, our School Advisory Council met to review our financial situation and discuss future planning for the school, which included a discussion on playgrounds and shade in the early year’s play area. In that meeting it was decided that the school needs to invest in our children’s future and remain competitive for future early years enrolments. As such it has been decided that the school will commit funds to support the P&F in the redesigning of both the early years playground and playground on the lower oval. Conversations regarding the design have already commenced with both staff and Catholic Education’s capital development team. We will have further information on this developing initiative for parents soon.

COVID-19 Information

As COVID-19 passes through our community, it is great to have our students and teachers returning back to school, and a blessing that all have maintained their health throughout their recovery. I would like to offer my appreciation to our staff for their efforts over the last few weeks and to thank our parents for their continued support and understanding. Hopefully, over the next couple of weeks, we will get all our students back into their classes, learning alongside their teachers and playing with their friends.

Reporting

It has come to that time of the semester where our teachers are starting to prepare reports. The disruptions experienced so far this year will add another challenge for staff as they look towards completing assessments and allocating grades. Please note that if your child has an attendance rate below 60% then it is not possible for the teachers to allocate grades. Rather, the teacher will note what they have done and the attitudes they have shown whilst in class.

Southern Ports Grants

Recently, we secured a grant from Southern Ports who agreed with us that reading is a foundational skill that requires significant investment. As such, they generously donated $1000 to our school for the purchasing of decodable texts and high interest low ability readers. A big thank you to Southern Ports for their investment, and to Sally Hunt for applying for this grant on behalf of the school. These funds are going to be of great benefit to our students for many years to come.

Wringe Wood Trailer

Thank you to the Wringe family who have generously donated a huge trailer load of wood to the school. If you would like to take home the wood, then all you have to do is visit our school Facebook page, find the corresponding post and make a donation in the comments to the school for the purchasing of reading books for our Year 3-6 students. Donations close 3pm this coming Friday 27th May, with the greatest donation taking home the wood.

Lions Club Grant

A big thank you to the Lions Club of Donnybrook who also agreed with us that reading is a foundational skill that requires significant investment. As such, they have generously donated, through a grant process, $5000 to the school for the further purchasing of reading resources to support our students. This money will go a long way as we further align our teaching of reading with the science of learning. A huge thank you from the students, families and teachers at St Mary’s!

Year 3 Reconciliation

Congratulations to Angie, Hannah, Monty, Ebony, Gemma, Victoria, Cienna and Mia who made their Sacrament of Reconciliation last Thursday in the Church. The Sacrament of Reconciliation teaches us the importance of forgiveness and restoring relationships when we break God’s law. A big thank you to Mrs Thomson who prepared our students and coordinated the night.

Year 4 First Holy Communion

Shortly, our Year 4 students will start preparing for their First Holy Communion (FHC). FHC is a special occasion where children take one further step towards becoming one with Christ and members of the Catholic community. Our FHC parent and student meeting is planned for 5:30pm on Thursday 2nd May, with the retreat planned for Friday 17th June, and the Sacrament being received on Sunday 19th June @ 10am. More information will be sent home to parents shortly.

Random Acts of Kindness Week

Last term we celebrated our first ever Random Acts of Kindness week. Whilst we do not want our students to think that being kind is isolated to one week per term, the week did provide us with the opportunity to have meaningful conversations with our students around what they were doing to make their home and school a more enjoyable place. This term we will celebrate Random Acts of Kindness week from Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June, with the free dress occurring on the last day. More information will be sent home to parents soon.

National Sorry Day

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. As a school we will be reflecting on the significance of this day with a Liturgy at 2:30pm Thursday 26th May in the Multi-purpose Room. All parents are invited to join us.

Reading Club

Mrs Thomson and other staff members will be offering Reader’s Club on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons between 3:10-3:30pm to those students who would like additional support with their reading. If there are any families who are able to donate fruit for the students to eat or any old novels by authors such as David Walliams or Roald Dahl that would be much appreciated. To get involved in this opportunity, please see Mrs Thompson.

Winter Carnival

On Friday 10th June our Year 4-6 students will be competing in this year’s Winter carnival. Students will be competing in Football, Soccer and Netball. More information will be sent home to parents shortly.

P&F Meeting

We have a new P&F Executive which consists of Kristy Hadley (President) and Alison Dowey (Vice), Eileen Patane (Treasurer) and Samantha Russo (Secretary). Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday 31st March at 9am in the staffroom. This meeting will be finished by 10am as we have Catholic School Parents WA coming in to present to the executive team. It would be great to have many parents there supporting the new team and their endeavours to friend and fund raise for our school.

Climate Survey

Recently, information regarding the school climate survey was distributed to parents. The survey collects information from parents, staff and students and supports us in better understanding our school’s culture, identifying strengths and areas for development. If you did not receive anything, please contact the office as soon as possible. The climate survey closes this Friday 27th May.

Jump Rope for Heart

Our Year 3-6 students have signed up for Jump Rope for Heart this year. At the time of registration, it looked like our students were going to miss many fun initiatives and events throughout the year, and it was thought that Jump Rope for Heart could be a fun solution with funds also going to a great cause. Our students have been skipping for several weeks now and are preparing to show case their skills at the School Skip Off which is planned for 1:30pm on Wednesday 29th June. If you have not already registered your child, or made a donation, please do so via the Jump Rope for Heart website.

RULER

On Friday 13th May, we presented RULER to the staff at our Professional Development Day. The day was a huge success as we unpacked how RULER could support our staff, students and families in developing the skills and strategies to become more emotionally aware and better able to problem solve situations of conflict. Throughout the year, our staff will continue developing their skills in RULER with the aim to implement with our students in 2023. For more information on RULER, please visit our school website.

Mini Marvels

Our Mini Marvels 3-year-old program is a parent involved Pre-Kindy program which runs every Thursday morning in the Kindy room between 9-10:30am with Mrs Fiumano. If you know anyone with children looking to enrol in Kindy 2023, please share this information with them. For more information, please call the school office.

Grounds and Maintenance

The school is currently seeking a suitably qualified grounds and maintenance person to join our team. Please share this information with anyone who may be interested and refer them to our school website for more information.

Long Weekend

Please be advised that there will be no school on Tuesday 7th June. This means, families will have an extra-long weekend to celebrate WA Day. Please enjoy the extra time with your family.

Enrolments

We are currently open for enrolments for 2022 and 2023. If you want to make the most of the great things happening at St Mary’s, or book a school tour with the principal, please contact the office on 97324700.

Mr Andrew Gammon

Principal