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Upcoming Dates
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- 5th May: P&F Mother's Day Stall
- 6th May: Mother's Day liturgy led by Transition Room 7 & 8
- 10th May to 19th May: Naplan testing period for Years 3 & 5
- 13th May: Defence Family Gathering
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Please refer to School Stream for full event details. Please check the EVENTS tab to add event details directly to your calendar!
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Principal's News
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Dear Parents and Caregivers,
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Setting Our Students Up For Learning Success:
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Whilst the end of semester might seem to be a long way off, this term will no doubt fly past like any other busy term. With the series of short weeks at the beginning of this Term, we then move into events like NAPLAN, Athletics Carnival, and Spirit Cup Day. Very quickly we will arrive at the end of Term 2 and teachers will be preparing Semester 1 Reports for students. There are two important elements for us to be mindful of in support our children’s learning success. They are Attendance and Expectations.
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There is a saying in education that “every day counts”. Recent studies and the table below show the direct correlation between attendance at school and student success.
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I encourage all families and students especially, to work collaboratively with our highly committed staff in preparing for the end of Semester 1 so that each and every learner is given the best opportunity to make the most of their talents. Hopefully very, very few students will be looking at their school report and thinking “If only I’d …”.
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Another important element in helping the learners to achieve is what we expect. Expectations exert a tremendous influence on what each learner is able to achieve. Research urges teachers and students to set their sights high – and mean it. The result will be improved student learning.
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Just about every school, teacher and parent says they hold high expectations for their children. However, what is said may not be truly believed - and it is the belief that moves the learner.
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Having high expectations is not all that is needed for students to succeed. Teaching and learning are very complex. But high expectations, from the adults in their lives, are the launching pad, the base from which students can aim for the stars and, using their own abilities and efforts, achieve their learning mission.
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Hopefully, we will be able to emphasise to our learners the importance of having high expectations of themselves, especially in the ways in which we demonstrate our own expectations of ourselves.
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As adults, whatever we want our learners to be, we have to demonstrate it to them and be successful role models for them, so they can see the benefits of what it is we are leading them to be. If we abdicate leadership, we deprive our learners of guidance and create opportunities for perhaps less desirable influences to enter their lives; all the more reason for us to be upfront leaders and role models.
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If we are adults who lead, we can create opportunities for our learners to thrive. We should never be apologetic about demanding high standards. Our students need us to set standards and clearly define boundaries where there is freedom for them to make positive choices about their intended achievements and their social responsibilities. We assume leadership in this area, because we are more experienced, knowledgeable and wise. To be successful in this area, we need to be relaxed, warm and accepting whilst still being firm and insistent.
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Mothers' Day Stall: Thanks to members of the P & F who have organised our Mothers' Day Stall for next Thursday 5th May. This will involve each class assigned a time to purchase a special gift for the significant Mum, Grandparent or Caregiver in their life.
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St Mary’s P and F have traditionally always done a wonderful job of ensuring every child has an opportunity to shop at the stall. Parents please ensure your child has money sent along to school secured in a purse or zip lock bag for them to a purchase gift/s.
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Any parents who are able to spare some time on this day/or the day before to assist with setup and preparation of the gifts, please leave your contact details with Ms Julie in the Admin office so a Mother’s Day Stall organiser can be in touch with you.
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Farewell to Zia (Room 8) and family who leave our school community this week.
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Congratulations to Roux, Felix and family who have attended their Australian Citizenship Ceremony this week!
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Have another wonderful long weekend families.
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A Prayer for Eco-Action
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Religious Education News
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The Season of Easter: The celebration of the Easter Vigil is the beginning of the season of Easter. The Vigil is the Christian feast of new birth, new beginnings, salvation renewed, and humanity restored to the Lord. While the Vigil marks the end of the paschal fast, the end of the celebration of Holy Week, and the end of repentance and conversion for which Lent prepared the community, it is much more a beginning. It is the beginning of a new season of grace and a time of joy and thanksgiving, for Easter is not one day or one solemnity—it is a fifty-day celebration, and the fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. The colour of the Season of Easter is white, and you may also see gold accents when you go to Mass during this time.
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Sacramental Program: This term children will begin preparations for their Sacraments.
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Children celebrating Reconciliation and First Communion have had their first lesson this week learning about choices. Their next lesson will be Thursday 12th May from 3 - 4pm. Children will need to be collected from the library at 4 and enter the school via the coded gate.
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Children celebrating Confirmation will begin their first lesson this Thursday 5th May at 3 - 4 pm in the library. Children will need to be collected from the library at 4 and enter the school via the coded gate.
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If you have any questions about the Sacramental Program or wish for your children to participate please contact clare.nolan@nt.catholic.edu.au for more information.
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Please return all Project Compassion boxes and envelopes to the school office by Friday 27th May or donate online via the Caritas website at lent.caritas.org.au.
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Mother's Day Liturgy - 6th May at 8.30 am at the hall
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Confirmation lessons commence - Thursday 5th May 3 - 4 pm
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Reconciliation and First Communion next lesson 12th May 3 - 4 pm
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Religious Education Co-ordinator
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News from Room 7
We have settled quickly after our Easter break. We were excited to see that the Easter bunny visited and put some eggs in our baskets during the break. We also enjoyed creating some cute bunny portraits.
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This term the children will focus on Information texts looking at animals their description, habitat, behaviour, diet and lifecycle. We will also learn how to draw and label simple diagrams. We have been writing about our holidays and practicing our letter formation.
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We have started our HASS unit where we will discover different properties of a range of materials and construct a display. The challenge will be to build a bridge that can carry a billy goat or other object across a river.
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In Mathematics the children have started working with numbers to twenty and exploring teen numbers using ten frames.
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CathCroc
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2022 School Swimming Program Payments
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We have been discussing with Royal Life Saving NT options for the lesson that was missed for classes during the first week of swimming, due to the lightning storm and severe wet weather. Unfortunately, due to their busy schedule with other school bookings, we have been unable to organise an opportunity for the missed lesson to be made up. As per Royal Life Saving NT's policies, refunds are not issued for missed lessons. However, St Mary's have made the decision to offer families a refund of $10 for the missed lesson. We ask that you please make contact with the school via email admin.stmarys@nt.catholic.edu.au to arrange how you would prefer your refund processed.
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Those families with payments outstanding we kindly ask that you arrange payment to be made ASAP.
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Pastoral Care and Wellbeing News
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Keeping Safe: Child Safeguarding Curriculum
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This year we will continue to integrate the Keeping Safe: Child Safeguarding Curriculum into our classroom environments. This curriculum is an evidence based, best practice curriculum developed collaboratively with child protection experts, teachers, educational leaders and other professionals. Throughout the year we will cover topics such as; Feelings, identifying safe places, warning signs, taking risks and responding to emergencies. Students will learn how to recognise abuse, tell a trusted adult, understand what is appropriate and inappropriate touching and ways of keeping themselves safe.
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This term's focus is on Relationships. Students will explore the following concepts:
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- Rights and responsibilities
- Identity and relationships
- Power in relationships
- Trust and networks
Developing positive and respectful relationships is an important part of a student’s emotional and social development. The relationships in a student’s life, including those with friends, family and peers, can influence their physical health, promote self-esteem and assist them in developing a sense of belonging. Teaching students about positive and respectful relationships encourages them to reflect on their current relationships and supports them as they form new ones.
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Creating a culture of respect in the school environment requires that students understand their rights and responsibilities. This will help them to identify and nurture healthy relationships and avoid unhealthy ones. They can also be taught that it’s okay to speak up and seek help when necessary, which will equip them to negotiate and strengthen their relationships throughout their lives. When students identify and understand the qualities of healthy relationships, such as trust, personal safety, respect, honesty, acceptance and loyalty, they can confidently establish and maintain positive and respectful relationships.
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Communication skills are an essential part of managing relationship difficulties. By learning how to recognise and express their emotions and feelings, students are equipped to discuss and resolve issues that are impacting on their relationships with family, friends and partners. By directly discussing issues such as gender stereotypes, abusive behaviour, and discrimination, students can explore a range of qualities and characteristics that promote and develop empathy, resilience and inclusivity. These qualities form the foundation for the establishment of positive and respectful relationships in students’ lives.
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For more information about the Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum you can visit the below link.
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Spirit of St Mary's Update
Our Spirit Cup token Goal for this Term is 50,000 Dojo points! It’s a big goal for our student but we are confident that if we work together as a team we can achieve this goal and have a super awesome Spirit Cup Fun Day!
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Shout out this week goes to Room 9 for earning 252 points in Week 2! Thank you Room 9 for your amazing video that you presented at assembly this week about how to follow the 4Rs every day at St Mary's in different places around our school.
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Download School Stream
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Why download the App?
- Receive instant notifications for important news and classroom updates.
- Complete permission and absentee forms.
- Keep up to date with events and save event details directly to your own calendar.
- Order from our school canteen.
Don’t forget to turn your notifications on – so you don’t miss any important notices!
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Canteen Online Orders & Update
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To streamline processes across the school, in 2022 we are now only accepting online orders for lunches.
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All families need to set up an account for online ordering through Flexischools, which is linked directly in the School Stream App. Details on how to set up an account can be found in the “CANTEEN” tab of School Stream. There is no need to download the Flexischools App, it can all be accessed from the School Stream App.
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For those with an existing account, you will need to update your child's class and room number for 2022 before placing your first order. Please refer to the instructions in School Stream.
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You can find the updated 2022 Canteen menu in School Stream. Please note daily orders close at 8.40am. Any orders received after this time, will be fulfilled subject to availability of stock and may be substituted for a basic sandwich.
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Please note that at this time our school canteen has been impacted by supplier shortages. Some items may be temporarily unavailable and will be marked as 'out of stock' when ordering. Thank you for your understanding.
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What is happening in Darwin
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