Newsletter Term 3, Week 1 2022
Tuesday 26th July - Grandparents Mass & classroom visit
Monday 22nd August - School Closure
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to Term 3! I hope everyone had a restful break and that you were able to get out and about to enjoy the holidays?
This term is already shaping up to be a busy one with the children taking part in a variety of excursions and incursion activities to build their understanding of this terms Faith Life Inquiry unit on ‘Our Sacred Environment.’
Also there are a number of whole school masses this term celebrating different feasts such as the Feast of St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop (Tuesday 9th August), the Feast of the Assumption (Monday 15th August) and on Tuesday 26th July, the Feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim the Grandparents of Jesus.
Our Grandparents morning will begin with Mass at 9.15am where the children are encouraged to sit with their Grandparents. Following this, if they are able to, Grandparents are then invited back into the classrooms to be with their grandchildren until recess.
Over the holidays as part of the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) initiative around meeting teachers in our catholic schools, our very own Eleanor Crawford and Simon Devlin were interviewed to discuss their role as teachers.
Eleanor’s interview was uploaded on the MACS website last week and Simon’s should be uploaded over the next week or two. Below is the link to access Eleanor’s interview.
As you would be aware as of 11.59pm on the 24th June, certain COVID restrictions have been lifted. No longer are there any mandatory vaccination requirements for staff or visitors working or attending mainstream schools.
Therefore, any parent coming onsite to the school or wishing to attend an excursion only requires a Working With Children Check.
Also the Victorian Government is providing up to three further deliveries of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) in Term 3 and again in Term 4 to schools.
These will be distributed for use by staff and students who are symptomatic or who are household contacts. Finally, children who are 8 and above who are household contacts of COVID are still required to wear a mask whilst indoors at school.
Here’s hoping we all have a happy and healthy term ahead?
Regards,
Andrea Richards
Principal
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St Margaret Mary’s students are independent life-long learners inspired by Gospel values and empowered with a sense of purpose and responsibility. They confidently engage with others and are equipped with skills to adapt to an ever changing world.
Each week, students who embody our values, apply the school mindsets to learning, work hard to improve or persevere to deliver on learning objectives are awarded a class award. The students who earned an award in the past weeks are:
Term 2, Week 9
Term 3, Week 1
Around the School
Welcome Back to Term 3!
Grandparents Morning
On Tuesday the 26th July St Margaret Mary’s will be hosting its annual Grandparents Morning. Beginning with a whole school mass in the Church at 9.15am, grandparents are invited to visit their grandchildren in their classrooms. Students are hard at work writing invitations so keep an eye out for them arriving soon.
Footy Tipping
Well after a few weeks the tipping ladder has been shaken up and a new tipper has taken top place. Farrer has had a steady few weeks and made the leap to outright leader, overtaking MPANTAZ. The two leaders have a bit of a buffer between them and third place and whether or not this sees them through only time will tell.
A couple of dark horses have shot up the ladder including Revs69 and StaceyPM, while the Millar Boys, Mrs Slatts and Tippy Timmy have remained steady. Alternatively, yours truly has dropped like a lead balloon.
With 6 rounds to go there’s still plenty of time and it should be an interesting run to the end of the season.
Please note the competition will wrap up at the end of the regular season (Round23) and NOT include finals. So you have 6 weeks to make your play.
Until next time…
Account SMM FSG
BSB: 083 347
Acc: 365426557
Make sure you use your alias as a reference.
Call for new members!
Can you spare some time to help out with the FSG? We are currently looking for new members. Contact Stacey to express your interest and find out more about how you can help out.
It is very exciting to be back at school and was a joy to hear stories from the students about how they enjoyed their break. We hope that the students, families and staff of your school also enjoyed a restful time during their holidays.
As we return to normal operations, there is lots to look forward to for the remainder of the year. Music, sports, debating as well as all of the great things that occur in class each day.
Our capital works program continues at Emmanuel, with construction commencing on the new Arts facility at Notre Dame Campus and a start date approaching for the refurbishment of the front oval at St Paul’s Campus.
You can find out more about these projects at our next experience event – Information Morning – on Saturday 6 August, 2022. Details are below.
Information Morning
St Paul’s Campus - Commencing at 10.30 am with the Principal’s address and other speakers, followed by a campus tour.
Registrations for these events are essential and can be made via the Tours & Events tab, found on the right hand side of the homepage of the College website, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au.
Also, the closing date for applications for enrolment for Year 7, 2024 is rapidly approaching. The closing date is Friday 19 August, 2022. A Prospectus Pack containing an application form can be requested under the Enrolment Information tab on the right hand side of the homepage of the College website, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au, by emailing enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au, calling the College Registrar on 8325 5119, or by visiting the friendly staff at reception of either campus.
If you have a child currently in Grade 5, please note that it is a requirement to submit an application if you wish to be considered for a place in Year 7, 2022, even if you already have an older child who attends the College.
We hope to see you at a College event soon.
Raising Screenagers
Mount St Joseph Girls' College is delighted to offer a free presentation with Dr Kristy Goodwin to St. Margaret Mary's parents and carers. The presentation, “Raising Screenagers” will help confused and concerned parents navigate the digital world together with their child. Dr Kristy will inform parents with research-based yet realistic advice to help parents feel confident about how they can best support their adolescent’s physical health, mental wellbeing and learning online. This event would be of most interest to parents/carers of students in Years 4-6, but parents/carers of all year levels are welcome to attend.
When: Monday 25 July at 7pm.
Where: Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College, 133 Maidstone Street Altona.
Book here: https://form.jotform.com/221638628097061
Read more about Dr Kristy:
Trying to find an important date? Check out our updated Term Dates page.
School Fees
School Fees
School fee payments are to be finalised by the end of term 3 unless otherwise discussed with the school. Thankyou to all the families who have made payments towards their family school fees and levy accounts. Without this support from you, our school would not be able to run.
If you have not started to make payments towards your account can we suggest you set up via your bank account, weekly, fortnightly or monthly direct debit payments. They are a great way to work towards settlement of your account.
We accept EFTPOS over the phone, or in person at the school office and you can make direct payments into our account. Please use your family name as the reference so we are able to allocate the payment correctly.
Our bank details are:
Account Name: St Margaret Mary’s School
BSB: 083-347
ACCOUNT: 463870010
Please speak to Andrea Richards or the Office ladies if you are experiencing financial hardship.
Remembering Sr Jeanne Dwyer rsj Founder of Joseph’s Corner
Joseph’s Corner in conjunction with Mount St Joseph’s Girls College Altona are holding a Reflection and Celebration of the life of Sr Jeanne Dwyer who entered eternal life in June.
The Reflection and Celebration of the life of Sr Jeanne Dwyer will be held at MSJ on Sunday 31 July 2022 commencing at 2.00pm and will include a paraliturgy. Light refreshments will be provided.
You are invited to celebrate with us Jeanne’s life and how she touched the lives of many people. An R.S.V.P would be appreciated. Please R.S.V.P by Tuesday 26 July to contact@josephscorner.org.au or 93152680.
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