Term 3 Week 6

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It's hard to believe that we have passed the midway point of Term 3.  Embracing the arrival of spring next week, there has been a hive of activity around our school to beautify gardens and renew classrooms. We look forward to sharing the results with you in the coming weeks.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday filming will take place at St Mary's involving the staff and students. The footage will be used as both promotional material and to create a virtual experience of the school for new Kinder families who are restricted from visiting the school due to current restrictions. We are very excited for the chance to promote our beautiful school! Students, staff and parents will all be involved throughout the two days. We are grateful for the support of the Catholic Schools Office for their assistance throughout the Better Together Project. 

Permission for photos/footage of students was collected on enrolment but any parents who would not like their child included in any promotional material should contact the school before Tuesday.

Last week schools received additional Covid-19 guidelines which we shared with families on 21 August 2020. The document is available on our Schoolbag app. 

To ensure the safety of our school community, students and staff are to stay home and be tested if they are unwell, even if showing only mild symptoms. 

Students who present as unwell or have flu-like symptoms during school hours will be sent home.  We encourage parents to arrange for the student to be tested through their local medical practitioner or one of the COVID-19 clinics. Students and staff are unable to return to school until they receive a negative test for COVID 19 OR a medical certificate. We are continually grateful to our parent community for working alongside us to follow these NSW Health and Catholic Schools NSW procedures for the wellbeing of our community.  

Please visit the NSW Health site for a concise list of recommendations (https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/cho-advice-education.aspx)

We would like to thank Katherine, Dakota, Sonny and Peyton Davies for the generous gift of five Children’s Book Week Awards Shortlisted books recently. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. Many students have already enjoyed reading these books in our Learning Centre.

Finally, this year we are unable to invite our community into our school to acknowledge and celebrate all fathers and grandfathers for Father's Day. However, this does not diminish our appreciation for their presence in our lives. Happy Father’s Day for next Sunday! God Bless. 

Sincerely

Jacki Moore

Principal

Science and Technology

We love Science at St Mary’s and National Science Week has become a highlight of our school calendar.  The theme this year is Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans. Last week students participated in activities designed to get them thinking about the importance of oceans and our need to care for them.

Year 6 did a wonderful job of planning and presenting the annual Science Circus to class groups.  The activities included modelling the layers of the ocean, creating lava lamps, walking water, making kinetic sand, magic sand and slime, and imploding watermelons.

There was plenty of engagement in learning and an atmosphere of excitement across the school during this event. Our school was fortunate enough to receive a Science Week bundle from the Australian Science Teachers Association, and each student was given a SPECTRA activity card, certificate and badge to promote student involvement in science activities.

The Paper Plane Challenge also commenced last week with Kinder students competing with the support of their Stage 3 buddies. This will continue over the next few weeks as students in each stage have the opportunity to participate and celebrate the wonder of science.

Learning Across the Stages:

Science and Technology

Kinder: Weather Watchers                                                                 

In Kindergarten we have been exploring daily and seasonal changes in the environment and how these affect living things. This has included looking at changes in the sky, different types of weather and the seasons. 

 Stage 1: Living Things in our Environment

This term Stage 1 students are exploring the school environment, and the flora and fauna that live here. They are looking at external factors, such as human impact, that may influence these species and will design a product to help them thrive.

 Stage 2: Living in a Material World

In Stage 2 students are investigating the properties of natural and processed materials and their suitability for a particular purpose. They will work in collaborative teams to improve the design of a product using their knowledge of materials. 

 Stage 3: Marvellous Mixtures

This term Stage 3 are exploring the strand of chemistry.  Students have investigated the different properties of solids, liquids and gases, and observed the results of combining and separating mixtures. They will apply their knowledge of the effect of heat and cold in changing the state of materials to create a food product.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the following students who took part in the Bebras Australia Computational Thinking Competition earlier in the year:

Credit: Mia Maddock, Paisley Padacyachee, Sienna Sutherland

Merit: Jack Cheney, William Hartley, Judy Irwin

Personal Development and Health

Kinder: Team Play                                                                 

In Kindergarten we have been learning about ways to be caring, inclusive and respectful of others. We have been exploring how being kind, fair and respectful to others can support class health, safety and wellbeing. Through stories, games and role play, students have explored what it feels like to be included and to show care to one another. 

Stage 1: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

This term Stage 1 students have been learning about how food groups and good food choices help keep our bodies and mind healthy. They have been exploring what routines we follow to keep our bodies healthy and safe as well as, what actions they can take to enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing. 

Stage 2: Personal Safety

Stage 2 are learning about strategies to make home and school healthy and safe places. Students have been identifying what it feels like to be safe or unsafe in situations and the strategies they could use in these environments. We have also explored the accuracy of advertisements when it comes to healthy food choices. 

Geography

Stage 3: Diverse and connected world

Stage 3 this term are exploring how people, places and cultures differ across the world. They have been researching countries of the Asian region and the connections Australia has with other countries across the world. Students are also learning about the diversity of the world's people and exploring some of the Indigenous tribes.

ATTENTION : Parents of Year 3 Students

Dear Year 3 parents,
Joanne Hall, Education Officer Mathematics K -12, Diocese of Lismore, is currently undertaking the unit EDCP601 Capstone (a research project), as part of a Masters of Education (Mathematics Leadership) at the Australian Catholic University. The purpose of the research project is primarily for the purposes of assessment for the course not for publication purposes. The project aims to analyse the existing Diocese Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) data captured in February from 2018 - 2020 for the students that are currently in Year 3. The data collected will be de-identified prior to analysis and stored securely for the duration of the project. If you have any objections to the use of your child’s de-identified data in this research assignment, please contact your child’s teacher.
Warm regards
Jo Hall

Sport & PE

These are part-time crossings which operate just before and after school hours, as well as other times such as school excursions and lunchtimes. They are highlighted by red flags with the words CHILDREN CROSSING on them.

When the flags are displayed you must slow down and stop before the stop line if a pedestrian is on or entering the crossing. You must not proceed until all pedestrians have left the crossing.

You must not stop on or within 20 metres before or 10 metres after, a children’s crossing.

School Crossing Supervisors

As you approach a pedestrian crossing or children's crossing where a School Crossing Supervisor is displaying a ‘STOP Children Crossing’ sign, you must slow down and stop. You may proceed when the School Crossing Supervisor no longer displays the sign in your direction or has indicated it is safe for you to proceed.

Recently, a Transport NSW representative visited and reported back to us on the following unsafe and illegal driving activities that were witnessed at the school crossing in Turf Street Grafton.

These illegal activities are being monitored daily, fines can be large, and loss of demerit points may apply.

A friendly reminder:

• Avoid crossing unbroken lines in the school zone.
• Don’t stop within 10 metres of the school crossing in the entrance to the pick up/drop off zone.
• Avoid stopping parallel inside the fog line, unless reverse parking.
• Don’t park for extended periods in the pickup and drop off zone e.g. several drivers observed for 20 minutes to 30 in 1-minute pick-up area.
• Adhere to no “U-turn“ sign when exiting drop off zone.
• Always maintain 40 km/hour during school zone times.
• Avoid stopping or parking in a disabled parking zone without proper authorisation.
• Hands off mobile phones.
• Always stop for adult pedestrians on school crossing, when flags are erected.

STUDENT ATTENDANCE

Regular attendance at school for every student is essential if students are to achieve their potential and increase their career and life options.

PROCEDURES FOR ABSENT STUDENTS

Planned: Families may provide staff with details concerning planned events beforehand eg medical appointments, allowing the attendance roll to be updated. Documentation is required when students go on extended leave. Please contact the school to arrange the application.

Unplanned:  Families may use the skoolbag app to notify the school of an absent student. After the roll is marked by the class teacher an SMS will be sent to the nominated parent. Please reply to the sms with the reason as soon as possible.  

Further information: https://bit.ly/2XzEkyt

CODE OF CONDUCT

Staff

This Code of Conduct Policy applies to all those employed by the CSO and Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore. It outlines the obligations, responsibilities and standard of behaviour required of all employees to uphold the values, integrity and reputation of the Catholic Church, the CSO and all parish schools.
Employees are required to be familiar with the requirements of this document and ensure they comply with the behaviours and obligations outlined within it.

Student

A Code of Conduct applies to students at St Mary's Primary School based on four broad bands: 

1. RESPECT
2. SELF RESPONSIBILITY
3. SAFETY
4. EFFORT

CHILD PROTECTION

Children and young people have a fundamental right to grow, develop and feel safe in environments that are free from violence, exploitation and harm. The Catholic Schools Office Lismore has clear expectations that all students in Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Lismore will be protected from all forms of harm including sexual, physical and psychological harm as well as ill-treatment and neglect. The Catholic Schools Office and Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese have certain responsibilities and expectations to ensure the safety and protection of children in their care, including supporting measures to ensure that children and young people will be taught how to protect themselves and to seek help if they are concerned about their safety.

Employees are required to be familiar and comply with child protection legislation as varied from time to time, including but not limited to:

● Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW)
● Ombudsman Act 1974 (NSW)
● Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
● Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 (NSW)

Failure to comply with the child protection responsibilities and obligations required by legislation or the Policy will result in disciplinary action being taken, up to and including immediate termination of employment, termination of contractor agreement, notification to external agencies and/or criminal charges.
An employee who becomes aware of a possible breach of the policy or legislation by another employee must report this to their Principal or Human Services at the Catholic Schools Office. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.

COMMUNICATION

Open communication is very important to us. If you have a concern please contact your child’s teacher directly.  Should you require additional assistance concerning the matter, please make an appointment with the Principal.
Further information: https://bit.ly/2yERBNZ https://bit.ly/3dcEORY