As mentioned last week I was fortunate to accompany our Year Six students to the Sport and Recreation Camp at Narrabeen along with Mrs Connelly, Mrs Presser and Peter Vagg. We were blessed with good weather and the water in the lake at Narrabeen was nice and warm. The students mainly engaged in water activities with paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing and raft building among the activities undertaken. All the activities were enjoyable with the most challenging being the 5.1km kayak journey. I certainly felt my age after that activity.

The children were enthusiastic, supported one another and were respectful to our instructors. They thoroughly enjoyed the excursion with many away on Thursday to recover.

I thank staff and Peter Vagg for accompanying the children on the excursion and spending time away from their families. We are already having discussions about next year's excursion to Narrabeen.

Reading Challenge

Next Monday all students will begin our five week Reading Challenge which is a part of the new homework policy. Students from Kindergarten to Year 2 will continue to use their current InitiaLit reading log while students in the older grades will be given a new reading log on Monday. Students who read for 17 of the 18 nights of the challenge will be invited to a sausage sizzle in Week Eleven. Year 5 students will need to read for 15 nights due to their excursion. 

Each year the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students will participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

NAPLAN 2024 will take place from Wednesday 13 March to Monday 25 March.

NAPLAN is just one part of our school learning assessment program. The tests assess literacy and numeracy skills your child is already learning at school.

In preparation for NAPLAN, our school will undertake activities to help students become familiar with the format and functionality of the online tests. These activities are not an assessment of student ability and will not be marked. Excessive preparation for NAPLAN is not required nor recommended.

The public demonstration site (https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site) is available to see the types of questions, tools and functions used in the NAPLAN tests. 

Further information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website (https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/naplan/parent-information). 

If you have any questions about NAPLAN, please contact your child’s teacher.

TESTING TIMETABLE AT ST MARY’S

Our NAPLAN testing times for Year 3 and Year 5 will be:

Week 7:

• Wednesday 13th March - Year 3 Writing 9am - 10am                                                                             Year 5 Writing 10am - 11am (Note change of date)

• Thursday 14th March - Year 3 Reading 9am - 10am & Con. of Lang. 10.10am - 11am. (Fruit break in between)

• Friday 15th March - Year 3 Numeracy 9am -10am

Year 8 :

• Monday 18th March - Year 5 Reading 9.00am - 10.00am

• Tuesday19th March  Con. of Lang. 9.00am 10am. 

• Wednesday 20th March - Numeracy 9am -10am

If you have made appointments for your son or daughter during any of their testing times and these can not be re-arranged, please contact your classroom teacher or Mrs Thompson as soon as possible, to let them know. 

Just a reminder that If a student is absent due to illness, they will be required to make up the test they missed before they can sit any future ones as ACARA stipulates the testing sequence. Mrs Thompson will be managing the make-up testing schedule and will communicate with those students when the make-ups will take place.  

We encourage you to help your child(ren) to stay calm and remind them that NAPLAN is just a snapshot of their learning and only ONE measure of their achievement. Please refer to the attached advice regarding children’s wellbeing during NAPLAN. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation

On Saturday March 9th at 4:30 pm at St Mary’s Church, our Year 4 students will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Next week, on Tuesday March 5th, students participating in this sacrament will come together for a prayer reflection. In this session, held during the day at school, students will also practise their prayer scripts and what to expect during their special ceremony.

We ask our school community to keep our Year 4 students in their daily prayers.  

Project Compassion Appeal

The theme of Project Compassion this year is For All Future Generations, with Caritas Australia highlighting the inspiring journeys of three resilient women.

This week, students listened to the story of Ronita, a 22-year-old mother of two who lives with her husband in a slum in the Philippines and took time to reflect on how other people live. 

Year 3 & 4 Mixed Tag Gala Day

Thank you to the parents who have nominated their child for this event. Teams are now full for boys however I have spaces for 2 or 3 more girls. Please email me if you would like your daughter to play. A big thank you to the parents who have offered to help manage on the day. Please find the draft teams list here. Draws and more information will be sent home via Compass once finalised. Please contact me if you have any questions leonne.challen@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Upcoming Sporting Dates

School Cross Country - K to 6 - Thursday 21st March (Week 8)

School Athletics Carnival - K to 6 - Thursday 16th May (Tm 2, Wk 3)

Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival

We wish the following students the very best of luck as they head off to Boorowa on Monday to represent the Western Region at the Archdiocesan Swimming Carnival: Kate Aston, Evie Brodbeck, Rory Brodbeck, Chloe Buck, Kynan Burgess, Harlee Cartwright, Belle Morris, Willa Morris, Nate Neilsen, Alex Presser, Sam Presser, Myami Robinson & Jesse Gault. We are sure you will have a fantastic day and we can’t wait to hear about your experiences. Go St Mary’s!!!!

Thursday Tennis at St Mary’s

We have just completed our first round of tennis sessions with  3/4 Emerald, 3/4 Mint & 5 Sapphire. They had a fantastic experience! A big thank you to Col & Lynne Maher for coaching our kids this term - we appreciate your time and the kids just love it!! For the next 3 weeks it will be Year 1 & 2 and Year 6’s turn. The Year 1 & 2 classes will wear their sports uniform on their normal days Monday and Thursday. Year 6 will need to wear their sports uniform on Thursday and Friday for Weeks 6, 7 & 8.

The remaining classes Kindergarten, 5 Cobolt and 3/4 Jade will have their sessions in Week 9, 10 & 11.

Archdiocesan Sport - Year 5 & 6 only

Rugby League & Netball - held 12th March in Lyneham. Nominations close 5th March

Football (Soccer) - 9th April in Lyneham. Nominations close 2nd April

Hockey - MacKillop Trials 10th May - registrations online by 15th March

Rugby Union - 28th May

Registrations are via the Canberra-Goulburn Sports Webpage:

https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/nominations

https://csnsw.sport/help/help-guide-for-parents

Next week we are having our first meal deal of the year on Thursday March 7th! 
I will be looking for 2 canteen volunteers, if you think you can help or have any questions please email me at jennifer.vorvis@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Cheesy Midterm Meal Deal 

THURSDAY March 7th 2024

Home-made macaroni and cheese 

Chocolate Chip Cookie 

& a juice popper 

$6.00 

Please return by Wednesday March 6th
or order on Flexischools by Wednesday at 11:00 am 

Reach out if you require a Gluten Free option. 

Yesterday Term 1 School Fees were invoiced with statements being sent out via email. School fees are invoiced termly but you may find it beneficial to schedule BPay payments in weekly or fortnightly instalments. If you require any assistance with this we ask that you contact the front office and we can work with you to find an affordable schedule. Did you know that if your school fee account is in credit we can use any in advance amounts towards your excursions. If you require any assistance with this we ask that you contact the front office and we can work with you to find an affordable schedule.

Ie; 1 student at St Mary’s in 2024 = $3143.00

Payments schedule starting  8/3/2023

43 weekly payments = $73.10

22 fortnightly payments = $142.87

Our Science & Technology strand for Term 1 is Living Things. During STEM we provide hands-on experiences to support the learning taking place in the classroom. Our digital technologies focus is exploring devices and learning how they can be used for a specific purpose. In all year grades we CREATE using a mix of Robotics, the Engineering Design Process (using recyclable materials) and a variety of online platforms including Minecraft Education. This year we will also be incorporating our 3D Printer which we are all very excited about. The following is an overview of what we will cover this term:

Kindergarten: Technology & the Beanstalk - students will learn how to use the features of an iPad and then use these features to record and collect data of a living thing. This term we will plant beans and watch them grow and change, while making predictions on what we think will happen next. We will then use our iPad skills to take pictures and reflect on how well our beans grew!

Year 1 & 2: Schoolyard Habitats - students will learn about animals in their local environment and will be using Minecraft Education to create their ultimate Dream Animal School with a focus on what animals need to survive and thrive.

Year 3 & 4: My Ecosystem - students will learn about what living things depend on to survive. Using Minecraft Education they will design and create a specific type of ecosystem that shows the interdependence of plants, animals and humans. 

Year 5: Adapting to our World - students will explore how the structural and behavioural features of animals help them to survive. Using Minecraft Education students will design four imaginary animals that have adaptations to survive and thrive in four different biomes (forest, desert, arctic & ocean)

Year 6: Sustainability City - students will explore a specific world in Minecraft Education that teaches them about sustainable practices such as food production, recycling, waste management, dependable forestry and alternative energy sources. They will then use the information they have researched to design and build a sustainable model of a city using recyclable materials that showcases the sustainable practices they have been exploring.

YOUNG DISTRICT NETBALL