St Mary's School Donnybrook
2022 Week 2 Term 2
We want our children to be: Caring, Believers, Open, Secure, Well-Balanced, Generous, Creative
Dates to Remember
Friday 6 May @ 9am: Swimming Carnival for Years 3-6
Friday 6 May: Bookclub orders due
Monday 9 May: Reconciliation Retreat Day (Year 3)
Tuesday 10 May: Casuals for Catholic Care Day (please bring a gold coin donation)
Tuesday 10 May @ 6pm: SAC Meeting
Thursday 12 May @ 9am: P&F Meeting
Friday 13 May: Pupil Free Day
Thursday 19 May @ 5.30pm: Reconciliation (Year 3)
Thursday 26 May: Next Newsletter
Thursday 2 June: AFL Clinic (Pre-Primary - Year 6 students)
Thursday 2 June @ 5.30pm: First Holy Communion Parent and Student meeting (Year 4)
Friday 3 June: Random Actos of Kindness Free Dress Day
Monday 6 June: WA Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 7 June: Student Free Day
Thursday 9 June @ 9am: P&F Meeting
Friday 10 June: Winter Carnival (Years 4-6)
For more dates to remember for this term, please see the 'Term 2 2022' link below
school uniform
Sport shoes are only to be worn with sport uniform. Black dress shoes to be worn with normal school uniform.
Hair must be tied up if longer than collar length. Only black, navy, red or white hair ties to be worn.
Earrings must be sleepers or small simple stud.
Summer dresses are only to be worn in Term 1 and 4.
Please refer to the uniform policy link if you are unsure or contact the office for further clarification.
http://www.stmarysdbrk.wa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Uniform-Guidelines.pdf
A note from the Principal
Dear Parents & Caregivers
COVID-19 Information
As of last Friday, we have moved to what the WA Government has termed “baseline settings.” These settings focus on getting schools and society back to normal. This welcome news means that schools can now invite parents back for assemblies, meetings, and other special events. It also means that we can go ahead with carnivals and interschool events, which is great news given we have swimming, cross country and the winter carnival planned for this term. Probably the biggest change and one that must be noted by parents is that schools are no longer required to conduct contract tracing or notify parents of positive COVID-19 cases in the school. Understandably, this may cause some concern for parents so for the time being I will keep updating the COVID-19 tracker found on our school website. Moving forward, all parents are requested to preview our school website regularly for changing information regarding COVID-19.
Swimming
This Friday, our school will host our first ever Year 3-6 Faction Swimming Carnival at the Donnybrook Leisure Centre. Whilst there have been beneficial changes to school operations, we will be sticking with the format that has already been planned. Year 3/4 students will be competing in their races between 10:00 - 10:45am, Year 5 between 10:45 – 11:30am and Year 6 from 11:30 – 12:15pm. Parents are welcome to attend and watch their child during their allocated timeslot.
Mothers’ Day
Unfortunately, we cancelled our annual Mothers’ Day liturgy and morning tea given the school operations announcement made at the end of Term 1. The school will be providing families with a Mother’s Day reflection that they can do with their children on the weekend. The reflection will include the Mothers’ Day slideshow. We wish all our mothers, and those who are like mothers, all the best for Mother’s Day and thank you for the work you do in raising our children.
Year 3 Reconciliation
Recently we held our parent information session and commenced student preparations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation being held on Thursday 19th May at 5:30pm in the Church. Our Year 3 and 4 students will also be completing a retreat day scheduled to be held next Monday 9th May. Reconciliation is an important Sacrament where our students reflect on their lives and examine their conscience in order to better understand how their behaviour can affect others, and how other’s behaviour can affect them. It is a time where we learn to forgive, but also learn the importance of saying sorry for the things we may have done. Thank you to Mrs Thomson for her efforts in preparing for the Sacrament.
P&F Meeting
Our first P&F meeting is planned for Thursday 12th May at 9am in the staffroom. For this meeting to go ahead, we need to fill the positions of President and Vice-President. If you are able to help and cover these positions, please let the office know a.s.a.p.
Climate Survey
Commencing 9th May, our school will be participating in a climate survey. 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. More information will be sent home to parents next week.
Jump Rope for Heart
Our school has signed up for Jump Rope for Heart this year for students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. 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. Our students have already started skipping practise and an information leaflet was sent home with students at the beginning of the week.
RULER
Recently, our leadership team commenced training in RULER. This social and emotional learning framework is designed to support teachers and parents in collectively building a positive school culture, and in developing the social and emotional intelligence of our children. This is a very exciting opportunity for our school which should benefit our students immensely. For more information on RULER, please visit our school website.
Pupil Free Day
There will be a pupil free day on Friday 13th May with all staff commencing training in RULER.
NAPLAN
During Weeks 4 and 5, our Year 3 and 5 students will sit the NAPLAN assessments. NAPLAN assesses students’ ability and growth across Literacy and Numeracy and provides schools with important information that can be used for both strategic whole school decision making and individual student reference.
Mini Marvels
Our Mini Marvels 3-year-old program has commenced and with the relaxed school operating guidelines there has never been a better time to join in the fun. Classes occur each 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.
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
Podcast
Casuals for Catholic Care Day "People helping People"
On Tuesday the 10th of May, we will be holding a free dress day for CatholicCare. CatholicCare is the charitable arm of the Diocese of Bunbury and provides funding for people in need across the general community throughout the diocese. It's motto is "People Helping People". The focus for CatholicCare this year is the St John of God Bunbury Social Outreach Program which delivers a range of programs throughout the South West.
We hope the students enjoy their free dress day as they support this great cause with a gold coin donation.
St Mary's School Donnybrook
Email: admin@stmarysdbrk.wa.edu.au
Website: www.stmarysdbrk.wa.edu.au
Location: 30 Bentley St, Donnybrook, WA, 6239
Phone: 08 97324700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/St-Marys-Catholic-Primary-School-Donnybrook-1835840293345149/