Newsletter Term 3, Week 1 2024
Thursday 25th July- 100 Days of Prep!
Tuesday 30 July- Grandparents Morning
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Term 3! As we move forward into this new term, we extend our heartfelt thanks for the support and understanding shown during this difficult time. The gestures of kindness from our community have been greatly appreciated and have truly helped us through.
Despite the challenges, our school community continues to thrive and grow. The building works are progressing as scheduled, and we are excited to see the new rooms and administration area beginning to take shape. The exterior brick wall has been removed and is ready to be rebuilt. Please note that as part of these works, the footpath around the construction zone has been closed. We remind students and families to be safe when entering and leaving the school.
Our preps and juniors are eagerly anticipating their excursion to Bundoora Farm next week. This excursion will conclude their Term 2 unit on history, giving them a wonderful opportunity to explore life in the olden days. We are sure it will be an enjoyable and educational experience for them.
Additionally, we are excited to celebrate the 100 Days of Prep on Thursday, 25th July. Preps are encouraged to come dressed as if they are 100 years old. It promises to be a fun and memorable day for everyone involved.
This term is shaping up to be a busy one, so please check the Term 3 dates for your diaries. We have several key events and activities planned:
FSG Meeting: Monday, Week 4 (5th August) at 7pm at the Spotswood Hotel. All are welcome to attend.
Parent-Teacher Interviews: Rescheduled from last term, these will take place in Week 3 on Tuesday, 30th July, and Thursday, 1st August from 3:30-5pm. If you missed your interview time, please ensure to book.
Welcome to Father Samuel: Our new priest, Father Samuel, will be visiting students next Tuesday after Mass.
Grandparents Morning: On Tuesday, 30th July, we invite grandparents and special people to join us for Mass at 9:15am, followed by an open morning in the classrooms. Special activities will run until recess, and grandparents are invited to enjoy morning tea in the classroom.
Year 4 First Eucharist: Our Year 4 students are preparing for their First Eucharist masses in August. We wish them the best in their spiritual journey. The formation evening will be confirmed shortly.
Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our school community. We look forward to making this term a positive and productive one for all our students.
Warm regards,
Simon Devlin
Deputy Principal (Acting Principal)
St Margaret Mary's Primary School
Congratulations to Zoe for Winning Her First International Medal!
We are thrilled to announce that last week, Zoe, one of our amazing students, won her first international medal in the Under 33kg Cadet division. Zoe represented our school and country with incredible skill and determination.
Her journey began with a stellar performance against a competitor from Korea, securing her place in the medal rounds. Zoe then faced a taller opponent from Mongolia. Despite a strong effort, she earned a well-deserved Bronze medal. Zoe was the only Australian in a highly competitive draw that included athletes from Korea, Mongolia, Japan, and Kazakhstan.
Zoe's strength and dedication are amazing and we are immensely proud of her achievements. We look forward to supporting her at the Australian Open in September and the Nationals in November.
Go Zoe!
Good Luck Ross!
We are thrilled to announce that another one of our talented students, Ross, will be traveling to Plymouth, England, at the end of July to compete in the Cadet International World Championships sailing event. This is a fantastic opportunity for Ross to showcase his skills on an international stage. We wish him the best of luck and look forward to cheering him on!
Cash For Cans
St Margaret Mary’s is now registered in the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS). When you donate to Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme, consider nominating SMM as the recipient for the funds from cans collected. Money raised will go towards FSG initiatives, including some new iPad for our preps!
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:
Week 10
Week 11
Around the Rooms
Y1 Shape Hunt
Year 1/2 Investigations
PREPS TAKE ACTION!!
In response to the Preps Taking Action, several members of our school community have donated blood in the last fortnight! The Prep students promoted a blood drive as a way to give back to their community and help our doctors. Thank you to those who responded to the call to action, and don’t forget there’s always time to donate! Give life, give blood!
Year 3 and 4 Artworks
Year 5/6 News Articles
Thank You Mobil!
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mobil for supplying us with a grant for a new interactive television for our Year 1/2 class. Our students love having access to this new collaborative technology, which allows them to be engaged and hands-on. It also enables them to share their learning with each other in exciting new ways. Your generous support has made a significant impact on our classroom, and we are incredibly grateful.
Student Wellbeing & Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) at SMM
Welcome back to our wellbeing news for Term 3!
Flourishing Learner Routines
Our students have transitioned smoothly into term 3. Our terrific staff are continuing to use a whole school approach to guide our students to follow set routines. The result is a calm, predictable start to the school day, successfully setting up the environment to be ‘ready to learn’. The high-quality routines being implemented help us to maximise learning time and clarify our behavioural expectations with students. The predictability of routines reduces anxiety and uncertainty. As we focus on the importance of lessening cognitive load by automatising tasks through positive habits, we provide our students with the capacity and working memory space to focus on other skills essential to improving their wellbeing and academic learning.
Social Emotional Learning
Our teachers are hard at work planning for regular Social Emotional Learning(SEL) lessons guided by the Victorian curriculum:Personal and Social Capability and wellbeing frameworks. Our students will continue to be exposed to collaborative wellbeing learning strategies to explore self-awareness and management and social awareness and management to put them on the lifelong journey of developing the skills to thrive and flourish personally and socially.
Across the school this term, teachers will focus on activities around the following topics:
Emotional literacy
Personal strengths
Positive coping
Problem solving
Stress management
Help seeking
Emotional literacy is the ability to recognize, understand, and appropriately express one's emotions. Developing emotional literacy helps students identify their own feelings and the feelings of others. This skill is foundational for managing emotions, forming healthy relationships, and effectively communicating, e.g. a student who understands their emotions can better explain why they are upset, leading to more supportive interactions with peers and teachers.
Personal strengths refer to the unique qualities, skills, and talents of each individual. Recognizing and valuing personal strengths boosts self-esteem and confidence. Students who understand their strengths are more likely to engage in activities where they can excel, feel proud of their accomplishments, and develop a positive self-identity. This awareness also fosters a growth mindset, encouraging continuous learning and improvement.
Positive coping involves using healthy strategies to deal with stress, challenges, or difficult emotions. Teaching positive coping skills equips students with tools to handle everyday stressors and setbacks in a constructive manner. Strategies such as deep breathing, talking to a trusted adult, or engaging in physical activity can help students manage their emotions and reduce anxiety, leading to a more positive school experience.
Problem solving is the process of finding solutions to difficult or complex issues. Developing problem-solving skills enables students to tackle academic challenges, resolve conflicts with peers, and make informed decisions. Learning how to break down problems, brainstorm solutions, and evaluate outcomes encourages critical thinking and independence, which are crucial for success in school and beyond.
Stress management involves using techniques to control and reduce stress levels.
Effective stress management helps students maintain their mental and emotional well-being. Teaching stress management techniques, e.g. mindfulness, relaxation exercises, or time management, helps students handle the pressures of schoolwork, social interactions, and other responsibilities
Help seeking is the act of seeking assistance or support when needed.
Encouraging help-seeking behavior empowers students to recognize when they need support and to reach out to family members, teachers, peers or other forms of support in their life. This skill is vital for overcoming academic and personal challenges, preventing feelings of isolation, and promoting a supportive and collaborative school environment. Teaching students that it's okay to ask for help fosters resilience and a sense of community.
This overview may guide you to have conversations with your children about the above topics and enable you to share and discuss your own skills and strategies with them.
Cultivating Gratitude: A Pathway to Wellbeing and Mental Health
As we navigate the ups and downs of life, we have had a focus this week on fostering a sense of gratitude. Fostering gratitude can significantly enhance wellbeing and mental health. Gratitude is the act/practise of recognizing and appreciating the good in our lives.
Research indicates that practicing gratitude can:
Boost Happiness: Regularly expressing gratitude helps to shift focus from negative to positive experiences, increasing overall happiness.
Enhance Emotional Resilience: Grateful individuals tend to recover more quickly from stress and are better equipped to handle adversity.
Strengthen Relationships: Gratitude fosters kindness and empathy, leading to stronger, more supportive relationships.
Here are some practical ways to integrate gratitude into your family’s daily routines
Practical Gratitude Activities for Families
Gratitude Journals: Encourage your child to keep a gratitude journal. Each day, write down three things they are thankful for. This practice helps children to focus on the positive aspects of their day and develop a habit of thankfulness.
Gratitude Jar: Create a family gratitude jar. Whenever someone experiences something they are grateful for, write it on a slip of paper and place it in the jar. At the end of the week or month, read through the notes together and celebrate the positive moments.
Thank You Notes: Make it a routine to write thank you notes to people who have made a difference in your lives. This could be for a kind gesture, a gift, or simply for being a good friend. This helps children to recognize and appreciate the kindness of others.
Gratitude Walks: Take a walk together and discuss the things you are grateful for in nature and your surroundings. This activity combines physical exercise with mindfulness, enhancing both physical and mental health.
Family Gratitude Time: Set aside a time each day, e.g. at dinner, to share what each family member is grateful for. This promotes communication and helps create a positive family atmosphere.
Acts of Kindness: Encourage your child to perform small acts of kindness. This could be helping a sibling, sharing toys, or giving compliments. Acts of kindness not only make others feel good but also increase the giver’s sense of gratitude and happiness.
To make gratitude a lasting routine/habit, consistency is key. Incorporate these activities into your daily or weekly routine. Lead by example-Share your own moments of gratitude with your children and make it a natural and joyful part of your family’s life. Practicing gratitude enriches our mental and emotional wellbeing and builds a foundation for a more positive outlook on life.
As always, our staff would like to express our gratitude for all that you do to support us and ultimately the children in your care. We are most grateful for the positive interactions and acts of kindness regularly offered. Thankyou for working in partnership with us to enable us to support our community’s mental health and wellbeing and make a difference!
Kath (Student Wellbeing Leader)
Welcome Father Samuel
We welcomed our new priest Father Samuel this week. Father Samuel came for a visit to plan out the rest of the year and will be back next Tuesday to say hello to the students.
First Eucharist Preparation for Year 4 Students
Our Year 4 students are beginning their preparation for their First Eucharist, which will take place in August. The Eucharist masses are scheduled for Saturday, 17th August and Saturday, 24th August at St Margaret Mary’s Church at 5:30 PM.
A form will be sent out shortly to ask for your preferred mass date.
Additionally, there will be a Eucharist Formation evening for families to attend. This is tentatively booked for Tuesday, 6th August and will be confirmed shortly.
Children’s Liturgies
Just a reminder that every Sunday at Sacred Heart, there are children’s liturgies held during the 10 am mass. It would be great to see some of our students coming along.
FSG Meeting
We will be holding an FSG Meeting on Monday the 5th of August at 7pm at the Spotswood Hotel. All are welcome to attend.
School Disco
The school disco will be going ahead. The FSG will meet soon and set a new date. Stay tuned for an update soon!
Footy Tipping
Don’t Think Do has shot up after using their Joker round and is sitting nicely on top with a point in front and a nice margin. TeamHuds is circling and with Geelong coming good is looking dangerous in 2nd spot. Devdoggies is still sitting comfortably in 3rd place but needs to be wary of Frank Grixti who has jumped from 9th to 4th place. Best of luck as we come to the pointy end of the season!
We were very lucky to have connected with Bunnings Altona and Bunnings West Footscray who have generously donated some vouchers for us. The prizes have now been finalised for the competition and we know what we are playing for.
1st Prize: $200 Bunnings Voucher
2nd Prize: $100 Bunnings Voucher
3rd Prize: $50 Bunnings Voucher
We have 35 members this year and only 11 whom have paid😟. Please be sure to show your support by paying your $25 entry fee.
Payments made via school FSG bank account, are asked to use your footy tipping alias as a reference. Account SMM FSG BSB: 083 347 Acc: 365426557 You can also send in $25 in an envelope to the office, labelled with your alias and titled "2024 footy tipping"
Click the link below:
https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/2024_SMM_Footy_Tipping?p=stmm3015
Parent, Teacher and Student Interviews
Dear Families,
We wish to reschedule the student/parent teacher interviews that were not able to be carried out at the end of last term. The new dates for the interviews are as follows:
Tuesday, 30th July: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday, 1st August: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
If you were affected by the previous cancellations, please use the booking link below to rebook a time with your child's teacher.
AED Census
Chess Club is back for term 3!
Winter Uniform Reminder
As we move into the colder months, we would like to remind all students and parents about the requirements for the winter uniform. Please ensure that students are dressed in accordance with the following guidelines:
Girls Winter Uniform:
Winter tunic
White collared shirt
Blue necktie
Cardigan/jumper/vest
Navy blue tights
Blue long socks
Navy logoed long pants
Black school shoes
Boys Winter Uniform:
Navy logoed long pants
Blue striped long sleeve shirt
Cardigan/jumper/vest
Navy blue socks
Black school shoes
Unisex Winter Sports Uniform:
Blue logoed tracksuit pants
Blue logoed long sleeve polo shirt
Blue logoed windbreaker
White socks
Sneakers
Preferred Supplier: Our preferred supplier for school uniforms is Noone. Please visit their store to ensure you purchase the correct items. Noone provides high-quality uniforms that meet our school’s standards.
For any further inquiries, please contact the school office or visit our uniform shop.
Thank you for your cooperation.
New Entry and Exits
Due to building works in the Administration area, students will now enter through different points. Please discuss this with your child and decide the best exit for them.
Guidelines for Keeping Your Child Home When They're Sick
We understand that deciding when to keep your child home from school can be challenging. Here are some guidelines to help ensure your child recovers fully and doesn't spread illness to others:
Fever
If your child has a fever, it's best to keep them at home. Ensure they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the help of medication before returning to school. At home, you can keep them hydrated and comfortable, which is crucial for their recovery.
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea can indicate a viral infection. It's important to keep your child at home and provide them with oral rehydrating solutions to prevent dehydration.
Vomiting
If your child has vomited, it's best to keep them at home until they have been vomit-free for 24 hours. This way, they can rest and recover without discomfort, and you can avoid the inconvenience of having to pick them up from school if they are still unwell.
Cough
A serious cough can spread infections and affect your child's sleep and energy levels. If your child has a wet cough, especially with breathing difficulties, please seek medical advice, possibly get a COVID-19 test, and keep them home until they are better.
Rashes
Some skin rashes can be contagious. Have any rash evaluated by a doctor before your child returns to school to ensure it is safe.
Conjunctivitis
This eye infection spreads easily among children. Keep your child home until a doctor confirms they are no longer contagious.
Stomach Ache
Stomach aches can be tricky. If there are no other symptoms like diarrhoea or constipation, and your child is otherwise active, they might be okay to attend school. However, if the pain persists, consider keeping them home and discussing any potential emotional stressors with them.
Ear Infection
Evaluate the severity of your child's symptoms. Mild ear pain might be manageable, but if they are uncomfortable or have a fever, it’s best to keep them at home. Monitor their overall behavior and energy levels to guide your decision.
By following these guidelines, we can ensure our children remain healthy and ready to learn. Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our school community well.
Emmanuel College News
One of the many highlights of our primary to secondary school transition is the Year 6 Music Discovery Evening. This event offers incoming Year 7 students a fun opportunity to explore various musical instruments and allows families to learn more about our extensive music program at the College.
Last Tuesday evening, Year 7 Classroom Music students from both campuses, along with the Junior Concert Band and Junior String Ensembles, came together to perform for family and friends. Over the course of two terms, these students have learned an orchestral instrument to performance standard, showcasing exemplary ensemble and performance skills. For many, this was their first experience playing an instrument and performing in front of an audience. We congratulate all students and staff who made the evening so enjoyable and memorable.
Admissions and Tours
Is your child in Year 5 this year? Are you interested in submitting an application for Year 7 in 2026? The closing date for applications is Friday, 16 August 2024. Applications are now submitted online and can be accessed via the College website. Click here to find out more about submitting your 2026 application.
Would you like to see our College? We invite you to attend our Information Morning on Saturday, 10 August, where you will hear from College Principal, Dr. Janine Biggin, and join a campus tour led by Student Leaders. Details for each campus are below:
Notre Dame Campus
Principal’s Address at 9:00am
Tours from 9:00am to 10:30am, with the event finishing at 10:30am
St Paul’s Campus
Principal’s Address at 10:30am
Tours from 10:30am to 12:00 noon, with the event finishing at 12:00 noon
Registration is available here: College events, tours, and Information Morning registration.
If you have any questions, please contact our College Registrar at 8325 5100 or via email at enrolments@ecmelb.catholic.edu.au.
Yours sincerely,
Jenny Hendricks
Community Engagement Officer
Mount St. Joseph’s Girls College
APPLY NOW
As we approach the enrolment deadline for Year 7 in 2026 at Mount St. Joseph Girls' College, we want to ensure that you have all the information you need to secure your child's place in our vibrant learning and faith community.
Students wishing to attend Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College for Year 7 in 2026 should apply in Grade 5 of their primary school education.
Apply online via the College website.
The closing date for applications is Friday 16 August 2024.
Why Choose Mount St. Joseph Girls' College?
· Academic Excellence: Our curriculum is designed to challenge and inspire students to achieve their full potential.
· Faith-Based Learning: We aim to develop informed and compassionate women of faith who will strive to make a difference in the world.
· Community Spirit: We are a supportive community where every student is valued, encouraged, and celebrated for their unique talents.
· Modern Facilities: Our contemporary and dynamic facilities enhance the learning experience, providing students with the resources they need to thrive.
We understand that choosing the right school for your child is an important decision, and we are here to support you every step of the way. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to our College Registrar:
Sherri Collins: registrar@msj.vic.edu.au
133 Maidstone Street, Altona
(03) 8398 2000
Thank you for considering Mount St. Joseph Girls' College. We look forward to welcoming your family into our community.
