St Mary's School, Charleville eNewsletter

Principal - Ms Katrina Dunne

St Mary’s School… A place like no other!

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the amazing staff, students and parents who make our school such a wonderful place. The dedication, passion, and commitment to our school is making a lasting impact on the lives of our students. Thank you for your tireless efforts in shaping our school and the future of our students. We were able to showcase our great school last week as St Mary’s hosted the TCS Principals’ Forum. The overwhelmingly positive feedback affirms the fabulous work we are all doing.

National Simultaneous Storytime

Today, our students took part in the national initiative to promote reading. Each class enjoyed the chosen book ‘The Speedy Sloth’. Thanks to our teacher librarian, Michelle Sheehan, who coordinated the event and our parent volunteers for their efforts in reading to our classes and ensuring this was enjoyed by all students.

Year 5/6 Fundraising – Hot Milo and Pie Drive

As mentioned last fortnight, our Year 5/6 students are off to the Sunshine Coast for their camp next term. The students and parents of Year 5/6 will continue to coordinate some fundraising events in the coming weeks. Please look out for our hot milo cups starting next week and place your pie drive order through a St Mary’s student or at the office. Pie orders are due by Monday 5^th June and collection date set for Friday 16^th June at 5:00pm.

Semester One Report Card – ‘Celebration and Reflection’

Celebrating report cards is a way for parents to actively engage in their child’s education, provide positive reinforcement, and create a supportive and encouraging environment. It can help foster a love for learning, boost self-confidence and set a foundation for continued academic success. Teachers are in the process of recording semester one results to communicate and report to parents at the end of this term. When you receive your child’s report (via Parent Portal), please take some time to reflect on their progress with them. This is about celebrating their successes and communicating expectations for personal growth. It is important that we do not compare our students to another student or siblings, rather, acknowledge their personal growth in their own learning journey.

School Fee Options

There are a number of options for paying your school fees:

Direct Debit a set amount (weekly, fortnightly or monthly)
Pay in full by credit card, NetBank transfer, EFTPOS or cash each term
Please make an appointment with the Principal if you need to discuss any concerns regarding finances.

Unpaid fees impact significantly on our school finances. Thank-you to those parents who endeavour to always settle their accounts promptly. This is greatly appreciated.

A reminder to families that Term 2 school fees are due for payment.

Have a wonderful fortnight.

Cheers,

Katrina

Date Claimers - Term 2

Friday 2 June Movie Night 6:00pm-8:00pm (instead of disco)
Saturday 3 June Holy Communion 6:00pm
Monday 5 June Pie Drive orders due
Friday 16 June Pie Drive orders to be collected 5:00pm
19-22 June Belief in the Arts Festival
Friday 23 June End of Term

APRE News - Mrs Kirsty Lines

Sacramental Program

Not long now until our Sacramental candidates make their first Holy Communion! All are welcome to attend Parish Mass on Saturday, June 3^rd at 6pm to support St Mary’s students Henry, Beau, Peggy, Zoe, Sam, Ruby, Maggie, Maddison and Regan. Please keep these students in your prayers as they continue their preparations.

Prayer Assemblies

Thank you to 5/6 for a very informative prayer assembly about Our Lady of Fatima. We look forward to Yr 3’s prayer assembly on Friday, May 26^th. Please see photos of the 5/6 prayer assembly below.

Catholic Education Week

This year, the theme of Catholic Education week is ‘Communities of Faith, Hope and Love’, with an emphasis on ‘Hope’. Catholic Education Week is celebrated from July 23 – 29, which will be here before we know it! Further details for St Mary’s celebrations to come.

It’s hard to believe it’s week 6 already! Have a fantastic few weeks.

God bless,

Kirsty Lines

APRE

Learning Support News - Mrs Belinda Phillips

We are ripping through the term, and I cannot believe we are over halfway. Teachers will be collecting their reading data based on the TCS RIS assessments in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to seeing how our students have grown in their reading skills across decoding, comprehending and vocabulary this term, particularly the students who have been working hard with us to continue refining their knowledge of phonics and reading strategies.

Last week we had the Primary School Nurse Health Readiness Program coordinator visit the school to complete the Prep vision and hearing assessment. Thank you to Prep parents for your promptness in returning consent forms. We are lucky to receive such services and this information helps us provide support to your children where it is needed.

Our Auslan sign this newsletter is -

water

With finger like a hook, move finger down the cheek.
Repeat

Belinda Phillips

Library News - Mrs Michelle Sheehan

The library is not only a learning and resource space in the school, but also a popular place to read, play and relax at lunch time.

Book Clubs

Term 2 orders due 28^th May

The website is now available for ordering.

Issue 4 OUT NOW!

Finished their lesson, completed their borrowing with time to fit in a read before heading back to their classroom.

Love students reading!

Just a reminder of our library expectation.

Many thanks to our students who consistently meet this expectation.

Alice & Michelle

HPE and Sport

It has been an action-packed start to term 2 with me getting to know the lovely students at St Mary’s School. I have been so impressed with students’ readiness for each lesson and all following the Mercy values consistently. The many adults who have helped with my settling in and preparing of equipment and lessons must also be recognised which includes our groundsman, cleaner, administration and support staff, leadership team and classroom teachers.

Below is what we are working towards in each grade through Health and Physical Education. During each “even” week, we have also been practicing our technique and fitness for the Athletics carnival that will be held in term 3.

Grade	Health	Physical Education
Prep	Exploring how our bodies are growing and developing, and actions to keep them healthy and safe.	Developing key skills relating to ball play including catching, throwing, rolling, bouncing and incorporating these skills in movement challenges.
Year 1 & 2	Examining health messages, physical activity guidelines, nutritional information, and hygiene procedures to develop healthy habits.	Ongoing development of key skills relating to ball play including catching, throwing, rolling, bouncing and incorporating these skills in movement challenges.
Year 3 & 4	Investigating how heritage and culture contribute to identity and develop effective communication skills to support positive interactions.	Participating in striking and fielding games to refine fundamental movement skills and develop spatial awareness and tactical plays.
Year 5 & 6	Exploring multiculturalism within Australia to examine how we can support community wellbeing and cultural understanding.	Perform specialised tennis skills and develop effective gameplay thinking as individuals and in teams.

Lunch time activities have also been occurring numerous times a week for students in years 3-6. This includes some soccer training, football training and plenty of minor games to tire them out before they go to class.

District & Regional Sport

Cross country, soccer and netball regional trials are coming up and we wish our students who have been selected the best of luck at these events!

There is also orienteering, tennis and softball trials approaching if your child is interested in competing in any of these.

Term 3 will be much quieter for district sport with track and field and girls rugby league being the main opportunities.

The Arts

Check out what’s happening in the Arts Space this term!

Students have been working very hard continuing our Media and Visual Arts Units.

Charleville Show

Did you see our students’ artworks at the Charleville Show? Every St Mary’s student entered a piece of art into the show, some very keen students entered several items.
Our School Choir and Performance Choir performed together at the show. I could not have been prouder!

Belief in the Arts

Our Performance Choir is made up of Year 4, 5, and 6 students who have been invited to participate in the Belief in the Arts Festival hosted for the first time by Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office.

In week 10, twenty-one students will accompany myself and several parent volunteers to Toowoomba to take part in workshops, to perform in front of audiences, to collaborate with students from others schools and be inspired by each other – a real celebration of our belief in The Arts!

National Sorry Day

This week our students have been exploring contemporary Indigenous Art.. Looking to see how one of the most ancient cultures in the world is still celebrated today, and how we can move forward in the spirit of reconciliation and justice. Check out Year 1’s contemporary artworks, inspired by Aboriginal Artists; Alkina Edwards, and Bayley Mifsud.

May Birthdays

Teddy Brayley, Jack Lehmann, Oliver Taylor, Georgia Itzstein, Ruby Russell, Maddie Sainty, James Pezet, Isabelle Crisp, Mrs Alexander, Ms Fisher, Mrs Murray.

Happy birthday to all students and staff who celebrate their birthday in May