Dear families,

As we near the end of another busy term, I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights of this term.

We had sporting success with cross country and winter sports this term, with individuals and teams progressing to high levels. We enjoyed incursions including responsible pet ownership and the Maffra Municipal Band. Our church celebrated its centenary and some of our Year 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation with Bishop Greg Bennet. We celebrated our mothers and mother figures for Mother’s Day and participated in many fun activities during Catholic Education Week, including attending the Peace Mass and holding our open days to showcase our wonderful school. The Green Team have been hard at work building vegetable gardens and improving our school grounds. Our dedicated staff participated in very valuable professional development throughout the term to continue to support the students’ learning. Teachers have opened their classrooms to families to come and witness their children’s hard work and academic successes. What an action-packed term we have had!

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our dedicated Parents and Friends Committee who are constantly working hard behind the scenes not only to fundraise for our school but are always looking to provide fun and engaging opportunities for our students. The P&F are currently organising the upcoming Glow Disco on Thursday 27th June from 5:30-7pm in the school hall (see Dojo for more details). It would be wonderful to see lots of children at the disco, where they can enjoy themselves in a relaxed social environment outside of the classroom. I hear there are prizes for the best dances moves, too! What a lovely way to end the term and head into the school holidays.

Thank you to the entire school community for your support while Julian has been on leave. We look forward to having Julian back with us next week.

Wishing you all an enjoyable winter break with your families. We look forward to Term 3 with many more learning, sporting and fun opportunities to be had.

Warm regards,

 Tara

Congratulations and well done to all students who were nominated this fortnight for their wonderful choices in the classroom or on the playground.  This is a weekly award and all nominted children should be very proud of themselves.  

Congratulations to the following students who were drawn out of a box of nominees for this fortnights Positive Behaviour Awards.  St Mary's have introduced this reward system to acknowledge the wonderful behaviour of students who regonise our school values of Respect, Act and Learn.

14/6/2024

Jas Stockdale

Milla Battista

Owen Crutchfield

14th June ~ Judson Harrop

Congratulations to Judson who is extremely proud of himself because he has memorised his mums phone number.  He has been practising over some time and now can remember it off by heart.  Judson also knows his home address.

Knowing both his mums phone number and his home address are great life skills to have in case of an emergency.  He and his family will feel confident and safe in the fact Judson can help in a difficult situation.

Well done Judson!!

To celebrate student's achievements, we will be presenting children with Star Of The Week awards.  This is a self nominated award of something a student is proud of.  It could be something academic, sports related, or a personal achievement. Have you learnt to ride a bike?  Won 1st place in a dance competition?  Read a book by yourself?  Anything that makes you proud!

Forms can be found on the link below.

This next presentation from The Resilience Project is all about Empathy and Kindness.

Empathy is our ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others to feel and see what they do. We practice this through being kind and compassionate towards other people.

Brain imaging data shows that being kind to others registers in the brain as more like eating chocolate than like fulfilling an obligation to do what’s right (e.g., eating brussel sprouts)!

Research shows that practicing empathy, such as performing acts of kindness, taps into our brain’s ‘mirror neurons’, builds compassion and our behaviour becomes more social and community-based.

View Part 3 of the series here:

Part 3 - Empathy: https://theresilienceproject.com.au/2023-parent-carer-hub-inspire-hugh/

Here’s an activity to practise empathy and kindness:

1. Reflect on someone in your life who could benefit from an act of kindness today. It could be a friend who would love some affirmation about their work, your pet who deserves an extra treat, or a family member who would love a phone call or text message.
2. Make a plan for who you are going to give an act of kindness to, and what you are going to do.
3. If you want to add accountability to your plan, share it with someone else and encourage them to do the same thing.
4. Follow up with each other in a few days time, to ask how it went!

Sources: Psychology Today, UC Berkeley, Greater Good Science

For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.

If you have any questions regarding the program please reach out.

Thanks,

Charmaine 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader

Taking place from Tuesday August 6th to Thursday August 8th, the Australian Maths Competition (AMC) is Australia’s longest running and most well known maths competition for school aged students. Topics for the AMC vary and will include a wide range of mathematical concepts, as well as problem solving questions. The competition includes a total of 25 multiple choice questions and 5 integers designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and extend students’ problem solving skills.

This competition is available to students from Years 3-6. Primary divisions are allocated 60 minutes to complete the AMC and they will complete this under supervision at school. Registrations are now opened with online entries closing Friday August 2nd. The cost to participate in the AMC is $8.50 per student. If your child is interested in participating in the AMC please collect a form from the front office and return the signed form and $8.50 to the school by Monday July 29th.

We are so proud of all the learning the Foundation students have completed and invited families to share their achievements.  It was wonderful to see the support from the children's families this week.  The children loved showing their work and their classrooms.

Get on board, it's going to be one your kids will not want to miss! This event is for all St Mary's students, from Foundation through to Year 6. Parents, feel free to drop your kids off for a great time, or you are welcome to stay and join in the fun too!

Thurday 27th June (second last day of Term 2)
5:30-7pm
St Mary's school hall

$11 entry (includes a prima and glow jelly)

Wear fluro and come a visit the glow facepaint and glitter station!

Follow the link to book tickets:

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1223893?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2RQCfn2ZoKMGpOyxZr8OuArj_XY-qKOM8EbWj0TV_3xCBN5g4LkhzDaVA_aem_AboArK-FM2ZAD4KW1GjBAvxO45n576KUEsdtE8nAK3h317BfyyFRDPH2EXM9QyCPawRxdBJeinb_DCNB7p_4ogBw

JUNE

TERM 3

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

**  Please go to our school website for the full year of calendar dates.

TERM 2

16th April - 28th June

TERM 3

16th July - 20th September

TERM 4

7th October - 18th December 

Friday 28th June (last day of term), assembly will be held in the hall at 9:05am.

We're super excited to announce that Sale is getting its very own Superkick Centre in Term 3. This is the first time Sale, and Wellington Shire in general will have the chance to participate in the Superkick program.

Superkick is a program targeted at ages 8-12 (open to 7 -16), when participants are aging out of the Auskick Program and is a good stepping stone before reaching Junior Community football. It is open for both males and females.

The Centre will run for 5 weeks during Term 3 – and best of all it will be indoors to keep nice and warm over the cooler months!

The program will begin on August 12^th and run until September 9^th, running on a Monday afternoon 4pm – 5pm at GRSC Sale!

The total cost of the program is $50.

https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/f30a1c is the direct registration link.

I have attached our promotional flyer for the program, and registrations are now OPEN!

The Gippsland Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) have programmed two children’s workshops over the Winters School Holidays which are great for all kids, but especially helpful for young children who have anxiety, or need some scaffolding to help express themselves fully. They are also wonderful at helping to develop social skills and cooperation.

Sparrow Eats a Dinosaur (Ages 5 to 8). Thursday July 4, 10am to 12pm.

This is a Shadow Play Workshop, where children get to create stories behind the shadow screen and are also encouraged to tell stories in front of the screen.

Mouse Swallows Elephant (Ages 9 – 12). Friday July 5, 10am to 12pm

This is a Shadow Play Workshop that also utilises the shadow puppets to build confidence, and focuses on developing ‘fine motor skills’ through the making (with assistance) of puppets.

Parents can book by visiting the GPAC webpage: https://www.latrobe.vic.gov.au/gpac/home
Or the Box Office: 03 5176 3333.

WEEKEND MASSES

Heyfield:

Saturday    6:00pm

Maffra:

Sunday    9:00am 

Cowwarr:

1st and 3rd Sunday   11:00am

Newry:

2nd and 4th Sunday  11:00am

Dargo:

5th Sunday   12:00noon

WEEKDAY MASSES

Heyfield:

Tuesday      9:30am

Maffra:

Mass & Adoration 2:00pm

Wednesday   9:30am

Thursday      9:30am

Friday          9:30am

Saturday      9:30am