Mary's Mount Primary School
Term 1, Week 4 - Friday 26 February 2021
Mary's Mount Celebrates 100 Years (published in CEWA news)
Lenten Prayer
God of hope and compassion,
You remind us of the need to turn away from our own desires, and to care for our neighbours throughout the world.
We pray that during this time of Lent, we may grow in understanding of the challenges faced by those who do not have much in our world as we make a home for them in our hearts.
As we think about the challenges of others, help us to challenge ourselves to ‘Be More’ kind, more generous, more courageous and more compassionate. Be with us as we walk side by side with our global brothers and sisters.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen
PRINCIPAL'S NEWS
The area of focus for this week is WISDOM.
We strive to develop a community that yearns for knowledge, truth, excellence and justice, thus empowering all for life long growth.
As educators at Mary's Mount Primary School we strive to provide an inclusive, connected learning environment for your child. For us to achieve this we need to keep abreast of current research and work in collaboration with each other. I will be sharing with you when we engage in learning as professionals throughout the year. The Leadership team attended a Leadership Forum on Monday with others leaders of Catholic primary and secondary schools. During the day there was a focus on how we, as leaders can provide preconditions for learning. For us to do that we need tight controls over aspects of a school, like the safety of staff and students. Leadership teams are responsible for the framework of a canvas. For staff and students to be able to paint on the canvas, the frame needs to be sturdy. Quality teaching and learning cannot happen if the frame is weak.
It is our vision to provide a learning environment of excellence and we will be working with the learning community of Mary's Mount Primary School to achieve this. Chris, Erin and I walked away feeling affirmed in our collective talents, that we can develop these preconditions for our school.
STEPPING BACK IN TIME
This morning I was privileged to be able to visit Sister Mary with Sue Blair and Gabby Hoffmann. Sister Mary was a teacher at MMPS for many years. She worked alongside other Sisters whose long days included not only teacher by day, but also preparing all the boys meals, helping with homework, washing dishes, ironing uniforms, kicking the footy, as well as cleaning and tending to the gardens and orchards. Sister Mary shared many wonderful memories with us that I am looking forward to sharing with you later this year.
SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL
The Advisory Council met for the first meeting for 2021. I welcomed the group with extended arms as we start our journey together, in partnership to create a learning environment that focuses on the development of the whole child. The group was joined by Joe Bartucciotto, from CEWA. Joe guided us through the changes in the Advisory Council role and how it impacts our school. We extend our sincere gratitude to Joe as he supports us in our vision and mission of Mary's Mount Primary School. During the meeting we had the privilege of electing key roles and responsibilities for 2021. I am pleased to announce the following positions;
Karen Rucchin - Chairperson
Sarah Di Rosso - Treasurer
Andrea Martin - Secretary
The executive team will be supported by Fr Suresh, Sue Blair, Fay Valli, Patrick Hanna, Dave Vallis, Melanie Eleonora, Erin Leech, Christopher Smith and myself. The P&F representative is still to be announced.
I am looking forward to a productive and positive working relationship with the team.
P&F
This week I met with our P&F Executive for a 2021 planning meeting. I am looking forward to working with this wonderful group of parents who are committed to making MMPS the best place it can be. The Executive have planned the first 'coffee and a chat' on 8 March. This will be a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with members of the MMPS community.
HIGHWAY HEROES
This Tuesday when our students are enjoying an extended long weekend, our staff will all be participating in the Highway Heroes Professional Development. I am excited about introducing this program to the MMPS community. It is applicable for all ages of primary school students no matter where they are on the highway. The concepts discussed will be rolled out at school, and I invite a member of each family to come along to enable continuation of the unique Highway Hero langauge to flow between school and home.
If you haven't yet confirmed your attendance, it isn't too late. I hope to see you there on Wednesday evening. I promise you will not be disappointed.
SCHOOL PHOTO DAY
I would like to congratulate how smart everyone looked in their uniforms on Wednesday on school photo day, and how our student were mindful of how their unforms and shoes looked, and I spotted many straightening clothing and tucking in shirts. I did however notice, many girls had their hair out or half up /down. I would like to remind parents that it is school policy that long hair needs to be tied up, out of a student's face and off their shoulders. Thank you for your assistance with following this policy.
ST EMILIE DE VIALAR AWARD
It was a pleasure to see Louisa Rodriguez be awarded the first St Emilie De Vialar Award for 2021. Louisa was recognised for her contribution to our community in the way she shows respect for all.She consistently greets others with a gentle smile and and a kind hello. Well done Louisa, the Mary's Mount Primary School community are proud of you!
SACRAMENTAL ENROLMENT MASSES
We are currently working with the Holy Family Parish regarding the Sacramental Enrolment masses. More information about this will be distributed next week.
I hope you have a happy and restful weekend.
God bless,
Emma Bell
Principal
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4;13
SNAPSHOTS @ MMPS
TERM 1, WEEK 5 2021 CALENDAR
- School Closed - Public Holiday
Tuesday 2 March
- School Closed - Pupil Free Day
Wednesday 3 March
- 6.30pm - 8.30pm Highway Heroes Parent Workshop
Thursday 4 March
Friday 5 March
- Canteen Closed
- 2021 Cricket Carnival (Y6)
** Saturday 6 March **
3pm - 6pm P&F Big Splash
IT'S NOT TOO LATE!! HIGHWAY HEROES IS ON THIS WEDNESDAY EVENING
This Wednesday 3 March is the Highway Heroes Parent Workshop in St Joseph's Hall from 6.30pm to 8.00pm.
Highway Heroes is a comprehensive Social and Emotional Learning program for primary schoool students. The program teaches the skills of social, emotional and learning wellbeing and resilience. We want every child to have an overflowing toolbox of life skills - from making and keeping friends, knowing how to manage bullying, to knowing how to calm down and be resilient.
Emma Bell has experience with this program and is keen to introduce the MMPS community to the practical life skills taught to children for social, emotional and learning wellbeing.
In addition to the Parent Workshop on Wednesday evening, staff are participating in Highway Heroes Professional Development on Tuesday (pupil free day).
As we will be rolling out this program across MMPS, we encourage a member of each family to attend this highly engaging workshop next Wednesday evening for an understanding of the unique Highway Heroes language that will help your child navigate the highway of life.
Please RSVP your attendance via the link here as numbers are limited.
Click here for more information.
We look forward to sharing Highway Heroes with you.
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
It's been a busy few weeks in the office at MMPS and we know there has been quite a bit of housekeeping and paperwork flowing between school and home. Thank you to everyone for your quick response with completing paperwork and returning it to school.
EMAILS - PLEASE CHECK YOUR JUNK FOLDER
There have been a few issues lately with CEWA emails. We have had a few reports of parents not receiving emails, but they are then found in the junk folder.
As emails are the primary form of communication by MMPS, can you please check your junk folder for any missing emails from school.
SCHOOL FEES PAYMENT OPTION PLANS
Thank you to everyone who has returned their payment options advice form. In our new finance system, everyone's chosen payment plan is entered into our system to enable better management of the school's cash flow and finances. For this reason, it is important all payment option forms are returned to school ASAP as they are now overdue. We will be following up those we are yet to receive next week, so if you have not returned yours, please do so ASAP. The only time you do not need to return a form is if you have already paid your 2021 school fees in full (as there is then no need for a payment plan to be put into place).
SCHOOL FEES DUE DATES
One, two or three payment schedule - First payments are due 5 March.
Monthly, weekly or fortnightly - First payments are due today - 26 February.
PHOTO PERMISSION, IT AGREEMENTS, SACRAMENTAL & FAMILY DETAILS PAPERWORK
Thank you for returning these forms so promptly. Your child's class teacher will contact you if your paperwork has not been received yet. Again, it is a compliance requirement we receive these forms back for each child.
School Administration
T. 9290 5200
SCHOOL PHOTOS & SPECIALTY GROUP / LEADER PHOTOS
SCHOOL PHOTOS
Now that school photo day is over, there is limited time to be able to place your order. Due to our pupil free day, and the limited time due to COVID when information was sent home to families, we have extended the online ordering close day to 7 March. (Not the 2 March as was in the letter sent home re school photos).
Every student who was at school on Wednesday has their photo taken whether photos have been ordered or not.
- The school has chosen to use the online ordering system. Your child was given an online ordering instruction slip and a unique student shootkey.
- Log onto www.msp.com.au and follow the prompts to place your order.
- If you have lost your shootkey the school reception has a copy to quote back to you. Please email admin@mmps.wa.edu.au and you will be emailed your child's shootkey.
- The expiry date for online ordering is the 07.03.2021 Any orders received after this date will incur a $30.00 archive fee. After this date, you can email your order request through to reorders.perth@msp.com.au or call the MSP office on 9240 8000
SPECIALTY GROUP / GREEN TEAM & Y6 LEADERSHIP PHOTOS
On photo day speciality group images were taken at your school.
These images can be viewed and purchased at a unique website, which is DIFFERENT to where you order the portraits and class photos online.
1. To place your Order online simply go to https://mspphotography.shootproof.com/
2. Locate the Schools Name, then select the album titled: Mary's Mount PS Specialist Groups - 2021
3. You will then be required to enter a password to view the Album. The password for this MWKEAB21
4. Please ensure that you use your child’s name at the checkout
5. The images you are viewing are uncropped and will be cropped to fit to a 10x8 print (as per the first image in your gallery, a sample of layout & colour)
- The online orders will be open until midnight on Thursday, 11 March 2021 – for the Bulk Pricing Offer
- The Bulk Pricing Offer is $20 per print and these will be delivered to the school BY CLASS GROUP
- After the $20 pricing expires, the photos will remain available online, but the photos are now at a cost of $35 per image and delivered to a preferred address.
If you have any queries please contact MSP Photography on 9240 8000 or via email on ordering.perth@msp.com.au
WELCOME BACK FROM THE P&F
This week you will have received invitations to attend our Big Splash Welcome Back event on Saturday 6th March from 3pm-6pm, as well as an invitation to attend our Welcome Morning Tea on Monday 8th March from 9-10am.
Both events are a great opportunity to meet and greet other parents and our new Principal and Assistant Principal. The Big Splash is also a wonderful opportunity for your children to catch up with their classmates outside of the classroom and have some fun. We're excited to be adding a few extra items to this year's Big Splash event so come along for a great afternoon out.
Our first P&F Meeting of the year will be held on Tuesday 9th March from 1.30-3pm. We'd love as many parents as possible to join us so please come along. Young children are welcome at this meeting too so please feel comfortable to bring them in. If you can't make the meeting but would like to participate, please join us online via our Teams link or you can email us any feedback you have prior to this meeting or at any other time throughout the year.
Make sure you register now for Highway Heroes as we hear this is an outstanding programme that is set to provide great benefit to every student at our school. A key element of the programme is parents understanding and supporting the initiative so we highly recommend your attendance at this event.
We're certainly off to a great start in our 100th Anniversary year - let's keep the momentum going!
Yours in education,
MMPS P&F Committee
MMPS DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CORNER
This week Pre-Primary and Year 2 students learned all about how to take a 'quality' photo. We learned how to take a photo on the iPad utilising different features. The new features students were shown included:
- Enhance
This feature offers options to enhance various lighting effects and brighten the image. - Crop
This feature allows students to resize the photograph with a grid. - Adjust
This feature offers brightness, exposure, contrast, warmth, and saturation among other options. - Orientation
This feature allows students to turn their image left, right, vertical, or horizontal. - Blur
This is a fun feature that blurs areas students touch. - Vignette
This feature adds a vignette to the edges of the photograph and allows students to move the vignette around the photograph.
Year 2 ventured down to the Nature Playground to take some magnificent photos. Pre-Primary took some epic photos in their classroom and uploaded their photos to SeeSaw.
They were absolute MMPS Digital Wizards!!!
Mrs. Muscat
ICT Learning Area Coordinator
SWIMMING CARNIVAL - Y3, Y4, Y5 & Y6
As in previous years, events include 25m and 50m events for freestyle, backstroke & breastroke, 25m butterfly as well as a 25m kickboard event for non confident swimmers. At the end of the day, we will finish with some fun relay events.
Please ensure you complete the form below for each of your children in Years 3 to Year 6 indicating the events they would like to swim in. The first question will ask if your child is swimming 25m of a particult stroke. If you select Y, it will then move on to the next swimming stroke. If you select N, the 50m option for that stroke will appear as students can only swim in either the 25m OR 50m event for each stroke.
Complete this form to nominate your child's events
As in previous years, championship points are awarded for 50m events for freestyle, breastroke and backstroke. Butterfly is not included in the championship points calculations.
All students are encouraged to enter an event, as there is a kickboard relay for our less confident swimmers. And as is the case every year, we also have a 'Team Spirit' award for the most supportive faction.
For any parents who are concerned about their children participating in the carnival, we would like to reassure you, we have swimmers on hand in the pool to assist any students who may be struggling so that everyone can be involved and have fun on the day.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me via teresa.curullie@cewa.edu.au
I am looking forward to sharing the 2021 swimming carnival with you all.
Teresa Curulli
Phys Ed Teacher
OUR NATURE PLAY IS RAMPING UP AGAIN AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!
But in order to do this we need your help. It's nothing too difficult, but as they say many hands make light work.
So please mark this date in your diary, and we will let you know closer to the time if we need you to bring anything along on the day. The P&F will also be supporting helpers with a treat on the day.
For more information, please contact Kate MacRae via mmpsnatureplay@gmail.com
CANTEEN NEWS - Closed Until Notified
Please note, the school canteen will not be open at this point in time until further notice. Thanks for your understanding.
COMMUNITY NEWS
ST BRIGID'S COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP EXAMS
Applications are invited from students entering Years 7 and 10 in 2022 to sit the St Brigid’s College Scholarship Examinations. For further information and to download an Application Form, please visit the College website: https://sbcl.wa.edu.au/enrol/enrolments/
Applications close at 5:00pm on Friday, 5th March. The Examination date is Saturday, 20th March 2021. Please return the completed Application Form to the Principal’s Assistant via email - guerinoni.pauline@stbrigids.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 : Louisa Sizer
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
LENTEN PRAYER
God of hope and compassion,
You remind us of the need to turn away from our own desires, and to care for our neighbours throughout the world.
We pray that during this time of Lent, we may grow in understanding of the challenges faced by those who do not have much in our world as we make a home for them in our hearts.
As we think about the challenges of others, help us to challenge ourselves to ‘Be More’ kind, more generous, more courageous and more compassionate. Be with us as we walk side by side with our global brothers and sisters.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen