Newsletter Term 1, Week 10 2023
Day 1 of Term 2, 24th April is a PUPIL FREE day
Dear Parents and Carers,
Who can believe our first term for 2023 is coming to a close? It has been another event filled fortnight, symbolic of a very busy term. It seems like only yesterday the date was February and we were beginning to build our positive relationships amongst each other and the classroom learning environments.
I wish to send out a welcome message on behalf of our community to our 3 new students who joined us in recent weeks. We have more new children joining us next term and our enrolments for Foundation 2024 are positive. If you have a sibling you wish to enrol for Foundation 2024, please prioritise emailing the office or popping in for an enrolment pack.
Now, as we conclude Term 1, we can celebrate the term’s achievements. Be sure to look out for a short video that highlights our learning at SMM on FB and Instagram early next week.
A few important housekeeping reminders. Please ensure the school knows before 9.30am if your child is absent or running late. For the safety of all children we have clear procedures we must adhere to by law. Please ensure your contact details and those of your emergency contacts are up-to-date via Operoo.
If we cannot account for our children, we are mandated to contact the police. If your child has a planned absence of a week or more, please email both the class teacher and the office: office@smmspotswood.catholic.edu.au Finally, we will begin our transition over the first 3 weeks into winter uniform next term.
The holidays will be a timely opportunity for rest and rejuvenation. Please try to wind down, reflect, renew and set some time aside to engage in Holy Week together as a family.
The liturgies of Holy Week are filled with some of the richest and most ancient symbols of the Catholic faith. The waving of palms on Palm Sunday reminds us that we are called to be followers of Jesus, not just fans who cheer from a distance.
The washing of feet on Holy Thursday speaks to us of the selfless love that we are called to practise in imitation of Jesus. The cross on Good Friday reminds us that, as Christians, we believe that Jesus can overcome anything.
The lighting of the Easter fire in a darkened church and the celebration of baptisms on Holy Saturday speak to us of the new life that is ours because of Jesus’ Resurrection. We are given the gift of hope – the belief that after challenge - there is light. Please see the opportunities outlined in this newsletter, for your families to join in prayer with other members of our parish of St. Joseph, over Easter.
As we move into April, and Term 2 we have some exciting events coming up. Year Sixes will be making their Confirmation. Please keep an eye out for our next date for the FSG to gather as we are keen to raise funds for enhancing our children’s experience of school through technology enhancements and the installation of a Gaga Pit in our playground.
Please make a note in your family calendar of Monday April 24th being a Student Free Day. Our teachers will be engaged in Professional Development with consultant Claire Scott to support our informed launch of Spelling Mastery at SMM.
Spelling Mastery is an evidenced informed teaching and learning resource that aligns with our continued and evolving implementation of literacy practices aligned with the Science of Reading. Tuesday 25th is ANZAC commemoration public holiday. Please note students return for Term 2 on Wednesday April 26th. Also, a highlight set for the first week back will be Year 1 / 2 s Resurrection Liturgy on Wednesday 26th April, 2.45pm.
Thank you one and all for the warm welcome, trust and support I have received as I settle into the vibrant Parish learning community of St. Margaret Mary’s. Happy Easter and be sure to take care over the holidays.
Take Care,
Colleen McCambridge
Principal
Upcoming events and reminders
Thursday the 18th of June our Year 6s make their Sacrament of Confirmation. Everyone is welcome at Mass to support our Confirmation Candidates. The mass is held at 6.30pm at St Margaret Mary’s church.
Follow our socials for the latest learning posts from the classroom
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 1, Week 10
Term 1, Week 9
G.A.T.E.WAYS
G.A.T.E.WAYS is an independent, non-funded organisation, established in 1994 to provide opportunities for highly able and gifted children with special educational needs. Like-minded students can participate in programs that will challenge them intellectually and help develop their individual talents.
Some G.A.T.E. WAYS programs are parent nominated, meaning that parents can enrol directly without a teacher nomination. Please log on to https://www.gateways.edu.au/ for more information.
Leadership Program – April school holidays – Enrolments are open for Years 5 and 6 students
Brainwaves Club – Saturday afternoon clubs during term time – Enrolments are open for Term 2 clubs
Online Workshops – after school and Saturday mornings – Currently enrolling for Master Classes
Festivals – Mid-year and End-of-year program – Enrolments will open mid-way through Term 2.
The BRAVE Program is an interactive, online program for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety. The programs are free, and provide ways for children and teenagers to better cope with their worries. There are also programs for parents.
It contains both resources and information for children, teenagers and their parents. It is designed specifically to help young people with anxiety overcome their worries and improve the quality of their lives.The BRAVE Team also know how hard it can be to make the time to fit everything in! The BRAVE program is an online program that you can work through at your own speed in the privacy of your own home.
BRAVE Self-Help is an interactive, online prevention and intervention program for youth anxiety. BRAVE teaches cognitive behavioural strategies to manage anxiety and worry. Each session builds on information and strategies learnt in the previous session, and aims to help young people manage anxiety. There are also parent sessions to help parents to better manage their anxious child. The BRAVE for Young Children is completely parent-focused. https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/
Easter Egg Raffle
We had many happy winners from oout Easter Raffle. The FSG led by Stacey did a fantastic job organising the prizes and class draws. Many thanks to Stacey for organising the FSG troops for her last job as outgoing FSG president.
Holy Week Liturgies
This week our classes have led us in our Holy week Liturgies. It was a fantastic chance for our student to experience the Easter story together. It was also a chance for our students to have input into planning and creating a time for our whole school to gather together in reflection and prayer. Many parents came along to be part of our Holy Week celebrations which we are very thankful for.
Upcoming School Masses and events
Wednesday 26th- 2.45pm Juniors lead the Resurrection Liturgy all welcome at school
Sunday 18th June- Family Mass: Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Playground
Please note that the playground is not open before or after school as there is no teacher supervising the playground at those times. If your toddler or preschool child is playing on the playground before the bell in the afternoon it would be helpful if when the bell rang, they then came off the playground so other school children aren’t tempted to play alongside them. Thanks for your support with this.
Also, as much as we love the cute dogs that come down to school to pick up their humans we ask that they don’t come into the school yard. We have some kids that are frightened of dogs and like to be with their parents before having to walk past any dogs.
Important Dates
Trying to find an important date? Check out our updated Term Dates page.
Save the Date!
St Margaret Mary’s has recently engaged Inform and Empower to work with our students around cybersafety. Students will be involved in termly online sessions and we have an online parent information session as well. Raising Kids in a Digital World will take place on May the 11 and we would strongly encourage all parents to make the time to view the webinar. More information to come in following weeks.
Hey All,
The junior classes need your help. We are after some resources to help ignite our investigations. If you are doing any clean outs over the holidays we want your clean, usable, second hand things! As always we are after natural based items, think wood, rattan, real life items etc basically NO PLASTICS.
We have listed some items on the graphic we are particularly after if you have any hanging around. If you have any small cardboard boxes (think packaging from online shopping) headed for the recycling bin please keep them aside for us. If you have any questions about an item's suitability please email myself (slaurie@smmspotswood.catholic.edu.au) and I can say Yay or Nay.
Please send any items in with the kids or drop them off at the front office. Thanks in advance, Simone and the Junior Team
Target Acquired!
At the first FSG meeting some potential fundraising targets were discussed. One thing everyone agreed on was a new audio visual system for the hall was a must. Stay tuned for updates about how we can make this dream a reality.
Footy Tipping
There was a bit of movement last round and people are starting to get the feel of who’s who in the competition. A couple of punters have pulled the pin on their Joker round. Only time will tell if it was the right move!
There is a tussle between BomberLove and Shaqatak, with BomberLove just in front at this stage. Patty35, Tigers September 2023 and Frank Grixti have made their way into the top 5, pushing TigerArryTrue, Millar Girls and Taffy the Dragon down the ladder. Can they hold their spots?
Please pay now if you haven’t already done so!
$25 to join and prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd to be announced soon.
Payments made via school FSG bank account. Please have entry payments made by round 3, using your footy tipping alias as a reference.
Account SMM FSG
BSB: 083 347
Acc: 365426557
You can also send in $25 in an envelope, labelled with your alias and titled "2023 footy tipping"
Join the competition below: https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/SMM_2023_AFL_Footy_Tipping_Competition?p=stmm3015
Best of Luck!
Emmanuel College News
What an exciting time we have had at Emmanuel for Languages Week with students being able to embrace different languages and cultures and experience a range of food and activities. There was Judo, Flamenco dancing, Comedia Clowning, and Showko a comedy in Japanese, a Colour-in the world competition, with a Spanish food truck, sushi and gelati on offer at lunchtime.
At St Paul’s our Year 9-12 debaters participated in the second round of DAV debating. They grappled with a wide range of complex, topical motions that looked at the rise of AI technology, uranium mining, political donations and compulsory volunteering hours. Well done to all of our teams for their thoughtful, well-structured and persuasive debates.
In addition, a highlight last week was the Year 7 Project Based Learning (PBL) parent night. We had many parents here, who enjoyed seeing children’s collaborative and negotiated work samples.
Our annual Open Day is our next big event at the College on Sunday 21 May at both campuses, where you will hear from our College Principal, Dr Janine Biggin and Campus Leaders. There will be campus tours and lots or activities in all subject areas for you to visit. Times for each campus are as follows:
St Paul’s Campus
Between 10:30am and 1:30pm
Presentations at 11:15am and 12:20pm
Notre Dame Campus
Between 11:00am and 2:00pm
Presentations at 11:45am and 12:50pm
Bookings are essential and can be under the Tours and Events tab on the right-hand side of the homepage on the College website, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au
Is your child in Grade 5?
Applications are now open for Year 7, 2025 and will close on Friday 18 August 2023. with A Prospectus Pack containing an application form can be requested from the College website under Enrolment Information tab, by coming along to Open Day, by emailing enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au calling the College Registrar on 8325 5119 or coming in to see the friendly staff at reception of either campus.
I hope that you can join us at Open Day.
Yours sincerely
Jenny Hendricks
Community Engagement Officer
Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College
Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College Altona invites you to explore our faith and learning community at one of our Open Events in 2023
OPEN DAY
Join us for our vibrant and interactive Open Day on Sunday 7 May from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Explore the College on a guided tour led by our student ambassadors and participate in all the fun educational activities that we have to offer. As part of the carnival atmosphere, listen to our talented musical acts and enjoy a snack from the BBQ. Meet our Principal and teaching staff and see why Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College is the best choice for your child’s education.
Register to attend by visiting our website HERE.
OPEN MORNINGS
Open Mornings provide an opportunity for families to witness learning in action on a regular school day. Our Year 9 student ambassadors will give you a personal tour of the College. Visiting families will have the unique opportunity to ask questions of our ambassadors and gain an honest insight into our programs and what it is like to be a student at Mount St. Joseph Girls' College.
Register to attend by visiting our website HERE.
Thursday 8 June - 9:15am – 10:30am
Thursday 20 July - 9:15am – 10:30am
Thursday 3 August - 9:15am – 10:30am
Thursday 7 Sept - 9:15am – 10:30am
ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS
A reminder that enrolment applications for Year 7 in 2025 close on 18 August 2023. Apply online HERE or contact the College Registrar, Mrs Sherri Collins for further information.
Contact details: registrar@msj.vic.edu.au or phone 8398 2007.
Our very own Aarti Vincent is performing at the Melbourne International Comedy festival. Tickets available below.
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/tight-mums-loose-units
We welcome your feedback so if you have anything to contribute to the newsletter, questions about content or general feedback, please let us know.