Dear Parents and Carers,

Today, we came together as a school community to celebrate the beginning of the school year  Mass. It was wonderful introducing our Grade Six leaders, House Captains, and Foundation students.

Thank you to everyone involved for celebrating and making our Mass a fantastic event.

Last Friday, Mia, Lachlan, Austin and Eli represented St Mary’a at the Zone Swimming Carnival at the Yarram Pool. Congratulations to you all for your effort and sportsmanship.

Thank you to Mrs Flynn and the parent helpers for their assistance on the day; It is truly appreciated.

Our Parent-Teacher Conferences on Tuesday evening allowed you to engage with your child's/children’s teachers. This relationship is pivotal to building a healthy and supportive link between home and school. If you were unable to make a meeting time, please speak with the staff.

Enjoy an extra long weekend with Labor Day on Monday, March 11th and Staff engaged in Religious Education Professional Development on Tuesday, March 12th.

Maria

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

TERM 1 2024

March 

TERM 2 2024

April

May 

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Happy Birthday to Jason and Austin who celebrate their birthdays on 9th March and 15th March. 

Jason really likes the Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles and Austin loves sports. 

We hope you both have a wonderful day.

EASTER RAFFLE

As you are aware, we are having an Easter raffle this year and are kindly asking families for an Easter egg or Easter item donation to be used in the raffles. This is a great fundraiser for our school. Donations can be left at the school office

Tickets are $1.00 each, attached is a book of 20 (write on both sides)

Please return all tickets (sold or unsold) to the school office by Monday 25^th March.

EASTER RAFFLE TRUFFLES

Try saying that fast a few times!

• 600g pkt Green’s Vanilla Mud Cake mix2 Coles Australian Free Range Eggs

• 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil

• 2 tsp finely grated orange rind

• 2 tbsp orange juice

• 400g white choc melts

• Red, blue, green and yellow liquid food colouring

• Rainbow sprinkles or confetti, to decorate

• Step 1
  Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease a 20cm (base measurement) round cake pan. Line the base with baking paper.
• Step 2
  Prepare the cake mix using the eggs, oil and ½ cup (125ml) water following packet directions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Step 3
  Line a tray with baking paper. Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Add the icing mix from the packet with the orange rind and orange juice. Stir until the mixture comes together. Roll 1-tbs portions of the mixture into oval shapes. Place on the lined tray. Freeze for 15 mins.
• Step 4
  Meanwhile, place the choc melts in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Stir until melted. Divide into 4 bowls. Use food colouring to tint the chocolate pale pink, blue, green and yellow.
• Step 5
  Dip 1 cake ball in melted pink chocolate, shaking off excess. Place on a lined tray. Repeat with remaining cake balls and chocolate, alternating between different colours. Top with sprinkles or confetti.
• Step 6
  Spoon the remaining chocolate into 4 sealable plastic bags. Cut off 1 corner of each bag. Drizzle truffles with chocolate. Set aside for 10 mins or until set.

congratulations to the four students who represented our school in the Yarram and District Swimming. Well done, Mia, Lachlan, Eli and Austin.

Thank you to all our parent helpers and to Ms. Heather Flynn.

Our students did a wonderful job of presenting and reading at the Opening School Mass this morning.

World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated on 21 March each year.
This year, we will use the Lots of Socks theme created by Down
Syndrome International and celebrate World Down Syndrome Day.

 On this day, we ask that your child wear lots of socks along with their school uniform.

They can be worn in their hair, on their hands, or as a belt. The socks can be bright, colourful or mismatched; the choice is endless!

During the day, we will be discussing what makes us all unique as well as Down
syndrome. We will talk about inclusion and how we can all help each other to
feel included. 

Please find below a brief definition of Down syndrome as a reference, should
you want to discuss the day with your child.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition – it is not an illness or disease. It occurs
because of an extra chromosome. Our bodies are made up of millions of cells.
There are 23 pairs of chromosomes, or 46 chromosomes, in every cell. Down
syndrome is caused by the occurrence of an extra chromosome, chromosome 21.
(Down syndrome is also known as trisomy 21.) People with Down syndrome then
have 47 chromosomes in their cells instead of 46. This results in a range of physical
characteristics, health and development indications and some level of intellectual
disability. Down syndrome is usually recognisable at birth and confirmed by a
blood test. It was named after Dr John Langdon Down who first described it.
Although we know how Down syndrome happens, we do not yet know why it
happens. Down syndrome occurs at conception, across all ethnic and social groups
and to parents of all ages. It is nobody’s fault, there is no cure and it does not go
away. People with Down syndrome may find doing some activities more challenging
but, just like everyone else, people with Down syndrome will continue to learn, and
are good at some things and not others.
We look forward to celebrating World Down Syndrome Day together.

Thank you to all the parents who participated in our Parent Teacher Conferences. If you missed this opportunity but would still like to discuss your child's progress with their class teacher, please call the office to make an appointment.

Religious News: Prayer

During the Season of Lent, we are asked to fast, pray and to give to those that are not as fortunate as others (almsgiving).

We can find many examples in the Bible where Jesus prayed, especially in the Gospel of Luke.  During his time in the desert, he prayed constantly in preparation for the ordeal that was to follow.  He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night that he was arrested, before his crucifixion. 

The Lord’s Prayer

Gospel of Luke 11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” ² He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come
     Give us each day our daily bread.
     And forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

Here we can see where the Lord’s Prayer that we say today comes from the Gospel of Luke.

However, we do not need to say formal prayers to pray.  We can just talk with God.  We can pray anywhere and at any time and we do not need any special place to pray.

One of our Parish Priests once said when you sing during Mass and Liturgies you are praying twice.

During Lent, try to take a moment to have a conversation with God, remembering the special Season of Lent.

Kind Regards

Sue Benc

YARRAM EARLY LEARNING CENTRE