Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2; I hope you had a wonderful Easter and an opportunity to enjoy time with your family.

Many smiles and holiday stories were shared over the past few days as the students returned to school routines.

On Monday, we all came together to reinforce our school-wide expectations. At St Mary’s, we are united in being Safe, Respectful, Responsible and Learners. This term, we will collectively focus on enhancing respect in our daily interactions in class and on the playground. Your role as parents in reinforcing these expectations is invaluable and greatly appreciated.

As we embark on this term, I reiterate the crucial role parents play in ensuring the safety of our students. Your adherence to using the crossing when parked on the opposite side of the road is not just important, it's paramount. With caravans and a larger proportion of vehicles using Buckley St, your commitment to this safety measure directly impacts the well-being of our students.

With the arrival of cooler weather and the inevitable increase in the use of tissues in our classrooms, I encourage families to consider donating a box of tissues. This small gesture plays a significant role in maintaining the hygiene of our spaces, particularly as sneezes and coughs become more common with the wintery weather.

Please take a moment to review the calendar dates. We have a host of exciting activities lined up for this term.

Maria

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

TERM 2 2024

April

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
				19th Hot lunch orders due by 9:00
22nd	23rd Andrew Chinn concert - all welcome	24th	25th ANZAC Day Public Holiday	26th No students in school
29th Yarram and District Cross Country	30th

May 

Mother’s Day Celebrations at St. Mary’s

Mother’s Day Breakfast and Stall

St. Mary’s Mothers' Day breakfast is on Wednesday, 8th May at 8.00 am in the Mary MacKillop Hall.

All Mothers, Grandmothers and Special People are welcome. 

Please let the school office know the numbers attending for catering purposes.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Happy Birthday to Jo, who celebrates her birthday on 1st May.

NATIONAL WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY 2024

Friday, 10th May 2024 is National Walk Safely to School Day. Students are to assemble at the Grant Memorial Park - Commercial Road at 8:15 and can walk, ride or bike to school (with helmets) along with their teachers and friends.

Mental Health and Wellbeing News

Over the course of Term 2 staff will be involved in Professional Development in the area of Social Emotional Learning. We have a school closure day on the 6^th May and this will be devoted to this area. We will then begin to implement strategies for building the social emotional capacity of students within our school. SEL is defined by CASEL (The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning) as the process through which children acquire and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. By building these competencies, children can improve their ability to understand and manage their emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions.  

The first area we as a school will look at is self-awareness. Self-awareness is the abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behaviour across contexts. Below are some of the strategies we will incorporate within the classroom and I have adapted them so they can be used at home.

• Explicit vocabulary (using a wide variety of feeling words to describe feelings)
• Reading books with your child, then discussing how characters might be feeling and why.
• Assisting your child to recognise and name their feelings. For example, "it looks like you might be feeling disappointed, can you tell me what happened?".
• Encouraging your child to articulate how they feel and why, using "I" statements. For example, I feel X because....
• Explaining to your child that all feelings are okay, but some behaviours are not. For example, it is okay to feel angry, however, it is not okay to hurt others. 

If you would like further information on social emotional learning please do not hesitate to contact me.

Deb Owens

Mental health and Wellbeing Leader

Religion News: Thursday 18^th of April

We are now in the Season of Easter.  It began on Easter Sunday and is the high point of the Church Calendar, remembering Jesus’ death and Resurrection.  It is a Season extending for 50 days.  Traditionally, it was a time for Baptisms to be celebrated. The Season of Easter lasts until Pentecost which is on Sunday the 19^th of May. 

Pascal Candle

 During the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night the priest carries the candle in procession into the dark church. A new fire, symbolizing our eternal life in Christ, is kindled which lights the candle. The candle, representing Christ himself, is blessed by the priest who then inscribes in it a cross, the first letters and last of the Greek alphabet, (Alpha and Omega `the beginning and the end') and the current year, as he chants traditional prayers, then affixes the five grains of incense.

The Easter candle is lit each day during Mass throughout the Paschal season until The Ascension of the Lord on Sunday May 12^th 2024.

The Paschal candle represents Christ, the Light of the World.

The pure beeswax of which the candle is made represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of His Mother. The wick signifies His humanity, the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body.

Five grains of incense inserted into the candle in the form of a cross recall the aromatic spices with which His Sacred Body was prepared for the tomb, and of the five wounds in His hands, feet, and side.

Term Two Focus

During Term Two our Religious Education Focus will be “We all have a story to tell.”  As families we have many stories to tell about our origins, our traditions, our religion, our culture, our adventures and holidays.

Students will explore these stories, as well as the story of the Catholic faith and how our stories add to the beautiful diverse quilt that makes up our community of St. Mary’s. 

Andrew Chinn Concert: On Tuesday the 22^nd of April, Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, will be visiting our school to share his songs with our children. Andrew’s songs, such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow”, “An African Blessing” and “Rise Up!” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. The concert will take place in the Mary Mackillop Hall, at 2:00pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

On May the 19th we will celebrate a special Sacrament of First Holy Communion when two of our students will receive communion for the first time.  We will celebrate this special event with the Parish. 

First School Mass for Term Two:

Thursday 2^nd of May at 10:00 am at St Mary’s Catholic Church. Everyone is invited and welcome.

Kind Regards 

Sue Benc