Mini Vinnies Christmas Appeal. Pupil-Free Days Term Calendar

Transcription

1 Newsletter December 2016 Dear Parents and Caregivers Congratulations to all our Year 5 students who presented their leadership speeches in the hall last Friday All students spoke with confidence and demonstrated a pride in their school. We wish each of the candidates all the best as we count the votes. School captains will be announced this week. Last Friday at school we had a fire drill. Throughout the week our classroom teachers discussed the purpose of a fire drill and role-played what we need to do and where we go if we need to evacuate in case of emergency. We encourage you to discuss fire safety with your children. Thank you to all the parents who have provided feedback to us regarding the calendar on the Moodle site. It seems that many are pleased with the changes and are regularly accessing the calendar for information on school events. If you haven t had a chance to see the calendar, you can access it here: We are looking forward to our Carols Night in the playground on Friday 9 December at 5pm. The P and F have organised some fun activities and food for the night. To ensure that the playground area is safe for everyone on the evening, the back carpark will be closed for parking. We hope to see you all there! Students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 have been given a letter regarding their Mathematics Assessment Interview which will occur at the beginning of Term 1, Please take note of your child s individual appointment time. Classes commence on Thursday 2 February For students entering Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 in 2017, classes commence on Monday 30 January. Kind regards, Frank Jones Pupil-Free Days Term Students will finish Term 4 on THURSDAY 15 December, allowing staff to participate in additional Staff Development Days at the end of the school year. Mini Vinnies Christmas Appeal The children wish to support the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal through the sale of bookmarks, loom bands etc as well as providing a Christmas hamper from each Stage. A list of the required hamper items will be sent home to families. We hope that you are able to support this important event. December 5 MJR Day Calendar THIS WEEK 6 Swimming Carnival P&F Christmas Social Evening 6pm at the Clocktower 8 The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 9 Family Christmas Night For your diary 11 Children s Liturgy 12 End of Year Mass 9:15 in the School Hall Prize Giving 14 Year 6 Fun Day 15 Last day of the school year for students Yr 6 Final assembly and Farewell January Years 4, 5 and 6 return Kindergarten commence individual Best Start Assessments Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 commence their individual Mathematics Assessment Interview February 2 Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 commence classes 6 Kindergarten 2017 commence Canteen Monday 5/12 Friday 9/12 Michelle Ambrose Rochelle Whitton Stacey Kroehnert Angie Day Fiona O Farrell

2 Joel J, Eliza-Rose B RE News Christian Meditation Be still and know that I am God, (Ps 46:10). For more information on Christian Meditation please visit this website Year 5 Reflection Day The children from year 5 participated in a Reflection day on Thursday 26 November. The children were very reverent and engaged on the day. Mass of Thanksgiving The Mass of Thanksgiving will be at 9:15 on Monday 12 December at St Mary s Primary School. The Mass will be followed by our Award ceremony at St Mary s School Hall. Advent This year for Advent we are going to have a MJR tree in the hall. Each week of Advent individual classes in the school will decide upon, and research someone who has reflected Making Jesus Real in the way they are, or through the way they lived their life. First Sunday in Advent The Church has begun its new liturgical year with a season of hope. Advent time is a time when we look forward to the celebration of the birth of the world's Saviour. During Advent we are commemorating the birth of Jesus, preparing for Christ's return and welcoming God into our lives everyday. MJR Day On Monday 5 December we are having a MJR day at school. The school will be working on the MJR focuses that we have in our school. The day is set aside for the children to look and reflect on the way that Jesus is.

3 God Bless, Tarnya Jones Leader of School Evangelisation Items being sent home previously: End of Year Celebration Mass and Prizegiving flyer Family Christmas Night Letter regarding 2017 Beginning of Year - Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 Items being sent home today: WEEK DATE EVENT LOCATION TIME 9 5 December MJR day St Mary s Primary All day December Children s Liturgy St Mary s Church 8:00am December Mass of Thanksgiving School Hall 9:15am

4 Teaching and Learning It was lovely watching Stage 1 students present an interview this week in English. They have been studying the book Circle by Jeannie Baker and were interviewing both the birds and the developers as to their point of view on a development which wiped out the habitat of the birds. The students were assessed on their use of: high Modality words, eye contact, clarity, expression and volume of speech. I was most impressed to see feedback from their peers being provided as part of their cycle of improvement. Angela Rediger ( Literacy/Numeracy Instructional Leader K-2) Class Parent Being a Class Parent for your child s class is a rewarding experience. Class Parents assist in forming a class community with parents, carers, teachers and students. If you would like to be a class parent in 2017 please leave your name with the school office or Mrs Jones on tajones@lism.catholic.edu.au. We look forward to another great year at St Mary s in Sport Friday, 25 November, four students represented our school and the Clarence Zone at the Diocesan Summer Sports trials. Paige Thompson and Maddison Yager competed in the Tennis trials while Theo Lobsey and Patrick Brophy participated in cricket. The students represented our school with pride and fantastic sportsmanship. Paige Thompson was selected as a shadow reserve for Lismore Diocesan tennis team. Well done to all four students. You have done our school proud. Pat Brophy and Theo Lobsey Paige Thompson and Maddy Yager

5 P&F Christmas Carols and Family Fun Night Thank you to all our families for the support given to the P&F activities throughout the year. St Mary s Primary School P&F wish to invite all families to a fun-filled evening to celebrate a wonderful year. Date: 9 December 2016 Time: 5pm to 8pm Venue: School Grounds Cost: Gold coin donation per person Everyone is welcome. Bring your chairs and picnic rug. Free Activities 5pm to 7pm Laser tag Photo booth Cricket / tennis games Christmas Carols 7pm to 8pm Food (BBQ), drinks, ice cream and snacks may be purchased on the evening

6 P and F News CHRISTMAS SOCIAL 6th December, All members of the St Mary s community are invited to attend a casual social evening to celebrate the end of a great year. It will be held at the Clocktower Hotel on Tuesday 6th Dec from 6.00pm. Hope to see as many of there! 9th December - St Mary s Christmas celebration. Please come along and join the St Mary s community celebrate Christmas. The evening will begin around 5.00pm and there will be some fun activities (photo booth and laser tag), food available and of course Christmas Carols performed by our students. Please see the flyer in this newsletter. All donations to the lucky door prize would be greatly appreciated - the donation box in the front office is looking very empty at the moment! Thanks in advance. Swimming Carnival Sausage Sizzle The P&F will be holding a Sausage Sizzle at the Swimming Carnival on Tuesday 6 December. Sausage sandwiches $2-50 Popper drink $1-50

7 Sport NOTIFICATION OF SPORTING/CULTURAL SUCCESS Please complete this form if you would like to share details of your child s success in an activity outside of school. We would love to share your child s success with our school community. Return the completed form to Mr Green or the school office. photos to mgreen@lism.catholic.edu.au or smpgraf@lism.catholic.edu.au. Student s name: Year level: Activity eg cricket, gymnastics, soccer, Eisteddfod, Equestrian: Level of competition eg state, national: Comment (a few details about the event and results): Swimming Carnival Information St Mary s Primary School Swimming Carnival will be held on Tuesday 6 December. The results from this carnival will be used to select the swimming team to represent St Mary s Primary at the Zone Carnival early in Term (New students will be provided with the opportunity to trial for the St Mary's Representative Team early in Term ). All students, Kindergarten to Year 6, will attend the carnival and are encouraged to participate in at least one event. The main focus of all our sporting carnivals is participation and enjoyment. All Students Students who leave the pool early with a parent/carer must inform the class teacher and Mrs Colleen Peters (First Aid tent) so that their name can be marked off the Roll. Sports uniform is to be worn but children may wear a T-shirt and hat in their house colours. Slip, Slop, Slap. Students are asked to arrive at school wearing their swimmers. All students will walk to and from the Grafton Aquatic Centre, leaving at 9:00am and returning in time for afternoon buses. (Infant students will return to school via bus) Cost for the day is $5.00 ($3.00 if season ticket holder) which will cover pool entry, levy and lane ropes. Please send this money on the day. Students may choose to bring a lunch or purchase their lunch from the P&F BBQ. Drinks are available for purchase from the pool shop. Children may not stay at the pool after the carnival. All places are decided from times recorded on the day. Parents are most welcome to join us at the carnival. Infant Students Infant students may participate in either the 25m Freestyle or 50m Freestyle only. Students turning 8 years old in 2017 are able to trial for selection in the school representative team. There will be a 7yr old 50m freestyle race for this on the day. They may compete in the Junior events in all other strokes. Novelty activities will be organised in the wading pool for infant students. Infant students will return to school by bus at approximately 12:30pm. Primary Students Primary students must choose to participate in either the 25m Freestyle or 50m Freestyle and any other strokes they are capable of swimming. All primary students will return to school in time for afternoon buses. We will need the assistance of some helpers for our swimming carnival to run smoothly and successfully. If you are able to help for all or part of the day please leave a message at the school office or see me on or before the day. Yours sincerely, Matthew Green SPORTS CO-ORDINATOR

8 ST MARY S SWIMMING CARNIVAL EVENT PROGRAMME 2016 EVENT NUMBER EVENT AGE APPROXIMATE TIME GIRLS BOYS m Freestyle Open Timed Final 9:45am m Freestyle 7 years 9:50am m Freestyle 8 years 9:55am m Freestyle Infants/Open 10:00am m Freestyle 9 years 10:10am m Freestyle 10 years 10:20am m Freestyle 11 years 10:30am m Freestyle 12 years and over 10:40am m Breaststroke Junior 10:50am m Breaststroke 11 years 11:00am m Breaststroke Senior 11:10am m Backstroke Junior 11:20am m Backstroke 11 years 11:30am INFANTS NOVELTY EVENTS IN THE WADING POOL (this includes lunch break) m Backstroke Senior 11:40am m Butterfly Junior 11:50am m Butterfly 11 years 12:00pm m Butterfly Senior 12:10pm LUNCH BREAK if time. LUNCH BREAK if time m Individual Medley Open Timed Final 12:30pm x50m Freestyle relay Junior 12:50pm x50m Freestyle relay Senior 1:10pm INFANTS RETURN TO SCHOOL ON BUSES PRESENTATION (if time) Primary students return to school in time to catch buses St Mary s Church, Grafton Weekend Mass Times Saturday Vigil 6:00pm (Daylight Savings Time) 5:00pm (Winter) Sunday Mass 8:00am

9