Dear Parents and Carers,

The last fortnight has been very special for the students and staff at St Mary’s. Many families joined us for our Opening School Year Mass, family picnic, Year 6 Leadership Induction Ceremony and Kindergarten welcome. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day so special for all of the students and our school community. 

Our Year 6 students have already made their mark as being a very special group of students to go through St Mary’s. Their leadership and commitment to the Buddy Program and supporting our youngest students is commendable. 

Congratulations to our Year 6 students who hold formal leadership positions for 2023.

School Leaders
Cooper H and Betty D B

House Leaders
Eyre Leaders - Axel S and Evie G
Cassidy Leaders - Harper L and Asher B
Howard Leaders - Indiana T and Noah D

Congratulations
Earlier this week, our Religious Educator Coordinator Mrs Jess Afflick had a new baby boy. According to her eldest children, Ollie and Quinn, both mum and bub are doing well. Congratulations to Jess, Jeff and family on such wonderful news. We look forward to their first school visit.  

Assemblies
Each fortnight on a Friday at 11:45 am, we hold a short school assembly in the COLA to present Stellar Student Awards to the children. These are quick assemblies so that learning time is maximised. The names of the award winners are placed in the newsletter and photos are posted on Facebook. If parents are around, you are of course most welcome to join us. 

Our Special School Assemblies are held twice a term and on special occasions in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). Parents, grandparents and community members are invited to attend and help celebrate the students' learning and talents. Each assembly has a focus grade. Please keep an eye out for upcoming assemblies on the parent Compass calendar. You are most welcome to come earlier and share lunch with your children and their friends. We often host family picnics to coincide with our special assemblies. 

COMPASS parent calendar
Most parents are now using the COMPASS calendar with ease. Please keep an eye out for upcoming events. If you are having any difficulties accessing it, please inform your child's teacher and/or ask at the front office. 

Morning Drop Off/Afternoon Pick Up procedures
When dropping off your children in the morning, please park in a designated parking area. Please do not use the school's driveway in Queen Street to quickly drop off your children, as this is an unsafe practice. Cars stopped in this driveway are impeding buses moving out safely.

Just a reminder that we have two pick up areas in the afternoon. Students can be picked up at the end of the oval near the Church car park and at the front of the school near the St Mary’s statue. You are more than welcome to come into the school grounds and wait. Please let your child know which area you will be picking them up from. Teachers are rostered to walk the groups of students down to these two areas. If parents are late, students will be taken back to the office to be collected. Thank you for your support.  

Volunteering at school
Thank you to our parents who are volunteering their time at school, whether it be in the canteen, in the classroom or in other school activities. If you don't already have one, please remember to apply for a volunteer Working with Children Check (WWCC) online and bring in a copy for the front office. A Volunteer WWCC does not cost anything. 

Lunch and Canteen
Our First Break (Lunch) is from 11 am to 11:45 am. Our students go to play first before returning to their teachers and classes to sit down and have lunch at 11:30 am. 

After discussion with Mrs Hayley Van Weerdenberg, other staff and parents, we have decided to make a change to the timing of purchasing over the counter snacks. Parents were finding that their children were not eating their proper lunch orders because they had already filled up with snacks. From now on, over the counter snacks can only be purchased during the second break from 1:30-2pm.  

Student Management and Support
The students at St Mary's have a reputation for being polite, friendly and very well behaved. Occasionally, as is the case with all children, some students do make wrong choices and this affects others. We have a Student Management and Support Plan that is well understood by our students. When something goes wrong, we keep things simple by referring back to our four school values and ask the student the following questions:

Were you being kind?

Were you being safe?

Were you being respectful?

Were you doing your best?

Rarely does a child not know or accept they have not done their best. 

We are here to support your child to make the right choices, accept consequences and learn from all situations. Occasionally a student may require some time away from their class and teacher to discuss and reflect on their behaviour. Parents are informed if the situation is of a serious nature or if a pattern of misbehaviour is occurring. Thank you for your support with this. When teachers and parents trust each others’ decisions and work together, the students know what is expected of them and benefit greatly. 

We all want the same thing; For each child to grow up to be the best person they can be. 

Little Investigators Playgroup
Our first Little Investigators Playgroup for 2023 was held on Tuesday morning and was very successful. Children aged 0-5 and their parents from the Moruya community came together for a morning of early year’s learning and fun. If you know of any parents who might be interested in attending our free Playgroup, please tell them to come to the PAC next week. Little Investigators is open to all, not only our St Mary’s families. 

A Prayer for Families

Loving God, 
We thank you for the gifts of families.
We ask your blessing on all families today and always.
Be with us in our daily life together. 
Be our guide in times of challenge. 
Be our strength in times of difficulty. 
Be our joy in times of delight.
Help our families to grow stronger in your love. 
And show us how to love one another as you have loved us.
May we welcome Jesus as the unseen guest in our home.
May we be his voice and hands, respecting and caring for those we meet. 
May we look to the example of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as we strive to be the best family we can be. 

Amen    

Mary, Mother of the Church Pray for us. 

Noeleen O’Neill
Principal