Dear Parents and Friends of St Mary’s,

We have had such an eventful week already, welcoming back some very enthusiastic albeit tired students and staff members from a great Melbourne camp, organising our Mothers' Day activities and preparing for the Yarram and District Cross Country.

We had our Mothers' Day stall this morning and it was so lovely to see the childrens' excited faces and happy smiles as they chose the perfect present for their mums. I hope you love what they have picked out for you.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at the Mothers' Day Breakfast on Monday, I always look forward to this day every year as the students are surrounded by the very special women in their lives, their smiles and joy are truly heartwarming.

I hope you have a lovely, relaxing weekend. 

Kind regards,

Maria

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

June

TERM 3:

Monday, 15th August

TERM 4:

Monday, 31st October

Mothers' Day Celebrations at St. Mary’s

Mothers' Day Breakfast

St. Mary’s Mothers' Day breakfast is on Monday 9th May at 8:00am in the Mary MacKillop Hall.

All Mothers, Grandmothers and Carers welcome.

If you haven't already, please let the school office know the numbers attending for catering purposes, notes have been sent home with your child.

Book Club Catalogues have been sent home, orders are due back by Friday, 13th May 2022

Motherʼs Day is a sensitive topic to write about. While it is a day of joy and delight for many families, it can also be a day of diiculty, and even pain, trauma, or sadness for many others. Many of us have farewelled a mother, experienced a relationship rupture with our mum, or experienced other challenges. And so many mums, this Motherʼs Day, will be grappling with coparenting, separation or divorce, or an inability to be with their children in loving and meaningful ways.

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Religion News: May the Month of Mary and Mothers.

In the Catholic Church, the month of May is Mary’s month. It is the month we honour Blessed Mary as the Mother of Jesus and our Heavenly Mother. It is very fitting for us mothers here in Australia as we also honour our own mothers on Mothers’ Day.

Historians are not exactly sure why May was chosen to honour Mary, but many believe that May being the month when spring is in full bloom has a lot to do with it. In the Northern Hemisphere, May is the height of spring; and gardens everywhere are alive with blooming flowers and trees are filling their branches with leaves. This new beginning and new birth in nature reminds us of the life Mary gave to Jesus. Without Mary, giving birth to Jesus, all the events that followed: Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection wouldn’t have happened. So, it’s believed that May (when nature is showing signs of life) is the ideal month to honour the woman who gave life to our Saviour, Jesus.

Happy Mothers’ Day to all mums, grandmothers and special females in the lives of our children.  May you get lots of cuddles and time together with your families.

Kind Regards

Sue Benc

JUNIOR CLASSROOM

Our Grade 3 & 4 students have been focusing their week researching local governments. 

The Grade 5 & 6 students are back from an absolutely fantastic time at their Melbourne city camp. They participated in a wide array of activities, from a visit to the vibrant Victoria market to being at the top of the Eureka Skydeck, this camp was jam-packed with adventure and fun. Here is what they had to say about their experiences and their favourite thing about the trip...

My favourite part was the photo race because we got to explore around Melbourne and see things I have never seen before, I got to go with my friends and we got points on how many things we found. I was on red team and we had 15 minutes and we got to get this food from the Queen Victoria Market. By Bianca Barlow

My favorite thing was the skydeck because me and Seth kept going in circles and it was SO FUN!!! I was scared when I saw it but when I got on it it was so cool, I thought I was in wonderland. I got a no sugar coca cola and Seth got 2 cokes. We went in a bird cage thing that had a great view. I could see the MCG, I saw all the towers and I liked it  - Brax Bainbridge 

My favorite thing was podcasting at the art center because I got to interview one of my friends with a microphone and I learned how to edit on a computer and use sound effects. It was super fun and we got to use headphones to hear each other but sometimes it gets really loud. - Indiana Austin-Bainbridge

My favourite part about Melbourne camp was when we went to the Eureka skydeck. Me and Brax were walking around in a circle so many times I was really scared looking up but when you go up there it's really fun and really tall. -Seth

My favourite part about Melbourne camp was MSAC, because I got to go on the jumping diving board and it was my first time. We also got to go in the wave pool and also got to jump off a platform that was 3m high. -Salenah Tusa

My favourite part was when we went to the Vic market. My group looked at the fish first and the veg then we went and looked at the fidgets, toys, clothes and food. We had one hour and a half to look and we had lots of fun. -Olivia

My favourite part about Melbourne camp was the photo race. I was in the Mr. Sheedy group with Ava, Brax and Tate. We had to find all the things that were on the sheet that we were given. It was really fun! We just got back in time. The good news is that we won the photo race so when we got to the queen Vic market Jess, one of the tour guides, she got us all a little treat.  By Lilly Kidd!!    

My favourite part was dinner at grill’d at Melbourne central because the burgers were the best. We had the option between a vegan burger, a beef burger and a chicken burger. I really liked the beef burger.-Lyla 

My favourite thing was the virtual reality in the eureka skydeck because it looked like real life and it was scary but it was fun and Miss Haughie filmed me - Harry  

My favourite part was the Eureka skydeck because I got to do VR. VR stands for virtual reality and I really enjoyed trying VR. - by Shekinah

My favourite part was the MCG because we got to go in the club rooms and media rooms and the mcc areas and the Australian sports museum which had soccer, basketball, netball, and footy and the MCG has a library. - Tate

My favourite part of Melbourne camp was the Eureka Skydeck, because we got to go there at night, so it looked very interesting with all the lights. It was also fun because we got to use VR headsets and Harry was our entertainment because all he did was scream. It was very funny to watch him scream. There was this challenge that who ever did not scream would get a donut, so I got to use the VR head set. I did not scream at all, so I got a donut. On the screen of the VR head-set was a zip line, so you would step on this wooden plank and hold on to this metal bar. It felt like you were actually on a real zip line. It also makes you feel like you're going across the city of Melbourne. -Breanna Wade.

At Melbourne camp my favourite activity was going to the ACMI display because there was a lot of old technology that I got to experience. I really enjoyed looking at the Mad Max display - Zahli Lubeck