Welcome Back to St Mary’s School for 2017!

Dear Parents and Friends,

May I wish you a very warm welcome back to St Mary’s School for the 2017 School Year. I trust that you and your families have enjoyed a happy and successful start to the year and feel refreshed and re-energized after the summer break.

St Mary’s Staff returned to work last Friday for their professional learning day and all members are very motivated for the school year ahead and look forward to working in close partnership with you in the weeks and months to come.

Over the holidays the building project has progressed well with all of the demolition work completed. Security fencing has been erected around the building site which will affect a part of the playground usage for this year. In order to compensate for this loss of space the recess and lunch times will be staggered across the classes. This will not affect the start or finishing times of the school day.

The Year 2 and 3 classes will be accommodated in the demountable buildings this year and Year 4 will be located in the former staff room which has been modified to allow for this change. We look forward to welcoming all the students from Year 1 to 6 this coming Monday and our new Kindergarten classes on Tuesday. 

Kind regards,

Beverly Coffey

Dear Parents and Friends

It is a sign of how busy our contemporary lives have become that December has crept up all too quickly and here we are composing our last newsletter for 2016. Throughout the last couple of weeks St Mary's has been abuzz with the end of year activities that have added to the long list of  events and activities for this year which make our school an exceptional learning community.

St Mary's has a rich culture of learning and one that encourages and expects excellence, dedication and commitment from all members, staff and students of the school. Our children are encouraged to reach their full potential, to be true to themselves, find their own personal interests and passions and improve all aspects of their learning as they grow from Kindergarten to Year Six. It is a holistic education that develops students' intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, physical, artistic and creative capabilities.

This year our teaching staff have been professionally challenged during the weekly Tuesday  afternoon staff meetings where they work in Professional Learning Teams (PLT's) to understand in greater depth the learning needs of all students in their classrooms. To do this, they have been using a variety of diagnostic tools and student learning data to further understand the student learning needs in implementing a purposeful program in line with the revised Australian curriculum. Our aim is to ensure all students, no matter what level, have measurable learning growth and are supported in a positive and encouraging environment. I thank all staff members for their commitment and loyalty to providing a learning environment where all students can reach their full potential.

I also extend my appreciation of the outstanding support provided by our parent community that continues each year. The generosity and level of compassion shown by the parents in the St Mary's community is very unique in so many ways. Blessings to you all!

As a Catholic school we are also privileged to have the Jesuit priests to guide and direct us spiritually throughout the year and remind us of our vocation to educate and care for children. On behalf of all the community I personally thank Fr. Andy Bullen, Fr. Michael Stoney and Fr. Daven Day for their great wisdom and compassion.

In the spirit of our theme for the Jubilee Year of Mercy let us all pray for mercy in the lead up to Christmas. Jesus was born into this world to show us how we can be merciful to others. May the message of Jesus' life live with us each day, knowing that God's love dwells within us, giving us the courage that we too can bring mercy to our world.

"What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

With every blessing for a happy Christmas and safe and relaxing holiday.

Beverly

Term 4 Week 7

Dear Parents and Friends,

As the start of Advent heralds the move into the final few weeks of Term 4, our staff are engaged in completing end of year student reports, preparing for the end of year Mass and the various events that come together to make this such a very busy time in the school year.

Year 6 Graduation

It was a privilege last night to attend the Year 6 graduation Mass and dinner.  The Mass was a beautiful reflection of the past seven years, and it was a joy to watch the children celebrate together.  A sincere thank you to Julie Donnell and Di Gedeon for all your work in organising a wonderful evening which I am sure the children will remember for the rest of their lives.  

Swim Week at Monte

Next week we have the swim week program at Monte.  Swim week is part of our PDHPE curriculum and all children from Year 1-6 are required to participate.  Thank you to the many parents who have volunteered their time to help out with walking the children to the pool and back.

End of Year Mass - Thursday 8th December - 5.30pm

All children are expected to attend the end of year Mass in their school uniform to celebrate as a community our year at St Mary's.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

Building Works Update

The house next door is currently being demolished.  The Builders will take possession of the Site this Monday 5th December and we will start to see progress over the coming weeks.

Thank you for your continued support of St Mary's School.
Beverly Coffey

Term 4, Week 3 2016

Dear Parents and Friends,

The month of October is traditionally where we reflect on the importance of Mary in our spiritual lives and all children have been praying the Hail Mary as part of their devotion this month. I hope they have shown you their special rosary beads.

Christians see Mary as a human being, who willingly allowed grace to work in her. St Luke tells us that from the moment that Mary was told that she was chosen to be the Mother of God, she expressed her natural human feelings: Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message and Mary pondered those things in her heart. All mothers ponder things about their children.

Mary, like us, had to strive to understand the mystery of the revelation made to her with regard to her Son, Jesus. She had to make her personal journey of faith as we now make ours. St Bernard called her Stella Maris, the Star of the Sea, our guide and our assurance as we journey on the through the challenges of our lives.

The most famous Mary Shrine in the world is Lourdes and it attracts more than six million visitors or Pilgrims to its Grotto every year. In a recent address Pope Francis stated why so many people visit Lourdes each year from every part of the world, so as to entrust to the mother of the Lord, the intentions which they bear in their hearts and ask for help and intercession.

Innovate Now for STEM

St Mary's has successfully applied to Sydney Catholic Schools for an Innovate Now Grant which will assist in the development of the STEM program at the school. It will allow the program to continue through 2017 and into the following year as a creative, engaging and relevant source of learning for the children.

Funds will be used to supply STEM classes with science and technology resources along with materials for hands-on activities. They will also build the school's intellectual capacity by providing STEM literature and facilitating professional development as well as connections with outside sources of expertise.

We congratulate Markus Powling and Tim Butt for their excellent efforts in designing this submission for the Innovate Now Grant.

International Teachers Day

All teachers are very appreciative of the generous gift from the Parents and Friends Association in honour of the teaching profession. On behalf of all the teaching staff I would like to thank Hamish Hutton and the P&F Executive for their wonderful coffee making machine and the delicious selection of coffee. It will most certainly will be well utilised!

Academic Excellence

I congratulate all students from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on their excellent results in all ICAS competitions from the University of NSW. These competitions are sat by students from the Asia-Pacific regions and are highly competitive in the areas of Mathematics, English, Spelling, Science and Digital Technologies. A special commendation is given to Isaac in Year 6 for his outstanding achievement in Digital Technologies. Isaac will receive the prestigious medal for the highest achievement in NSW/ACT which is a wonderful recognition of his talent.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Beverly Coffey

Term 4 Week 1

Dear Parents and Friends,

It has been delightful this week to welcome all the students and staff back from their Spring holidays and to see everyone looking so well and relaxed after the 2-week break. The classrooms have been abuzz with chatter and laughter as the students have enjoyed catching up with one another and sharing their holiday news.

It was lovely to welcome our new students and families:
Claudia (Year 1) and Hugh (K)
Caden (Year 1)
May your time at St Mary's be filled with great joy and learning!

The Year 2, 3 and 4 classes are particularly excited about being back at school as they are located in their new demountable classrooms for this term. At the moment they are busy designing a name for their new classroom which they will share at the Blessing Ceremony to take place shortly with Fr. Andy Bullen when he returns from his visit to Melbourne. We will invite parents to this occasion when a date has been formally set.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many parents who assisted with the setting up of the new demountable classrooms in making them attractive and welcoming learning spaces. Annie Austin and her team of helpers from the Lendlease company organised the outdoor spaces with a nice environmental touch and Simon Robinson and his team of generous Dads helped set up the technology in the rooms. All the staff and students greatly appreciated this support.

The Stage 2 Building Project will be commencing early this term and will be managed by Gledhill Construction Company. They have a strong reputation in the school building industry for excellent work so we look forward to welcoming them on site shortly.

The Year 5/6 classes are enjoying their excursion to Canberra this week and from all reports the students have been involved in some wonderful learning experiences. We have shared some photos of the trip with you.

My warm wishes to all students and families for a fulfilling and enjoyable Term 4.

Dear Parents and Friends,

This week brings Term 3 to a close.

It has been a busy and very rewarding term for everyone in our community as we acknowledge the many achievements.

The students continue to enjoy their learning and perform very well across all curriculum areas. They are passionate about their school and bring great spirit and energy to the whole community.

May I take this opportunity to thank our dedicated teaching staff for their commitment to excellence in teaching and learning and to all parents for the wonderful support in all that we do for your children.

May I wish you a very happy holiday and a safe return to school next term.

Best wishes and God bless,
Beverly

Dear Parents and Friends,

Congratulations to our Year 3 and 5 students for their excellence in the 2016 NAPLAN testing. Both Year 3 and Year 5 students achieved significantly above the state average in at least four of the five NAPLAN Assessment areas. St Mary's has been congratulated on their achievements by Sydney Catholic Schools in a recent news bulletin from the Director. Well done students!

School Building Update
During the next school holidays Year 2, 3 and 4 classes will be moved across into the demountable accommodation ready for the building project. It is anticipated that the builder will be on site early Term 4 and a notice will be posted when an exact date is confirmed. A timeline for construction will also be advised.

Learning Celebrations
We invite all parents to see St Mary's Classes In Action this coming Monday September 12th commencing after assembly.

At St Mary's we believe that the students will be happiest and thrive when families and teachers are working together in a strong partnership. We welcome and encourage open and positive communication and involvement with parents as we foster confident, caring and independent lifelong learners.

As you move around the classes you will see our teachers who apply the best of theory and practice from a variety of curriculum frameworks to provide rich learning tasks and effective learning outcomes for students. Technology supports the learning program via networked computers, iPads and Chromebook laptops and interactive whiteboards and televisions in each classroom.

Classrooms are exciting and welcoming creating an inspiring and challenging learning environment.
Children are always curious, enthusiastic and keen to learn at St Mary's.
We look forward to welcoming you this Monday.

Best wishes,
Beverly