Newsletter Term 1, Week 6 2024
Monday 11 March- Labour Day student free day
Friday 22 March- Whole School Athletics Day
Monday 25th March- Easter Bonnet Parade
Thursday 28th March- Term 1 Finishes at 1pm
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we journey through Lent towards the promise of Resurrection, we embrace the love and hope that this season brings. Let us join together in prayer and service, following the example of St. Joseph, our patron saint. We invite all families to join us for the Feast day of St. Joseph on Sunday, March 17th, at the 10am mass at Sacred Heart Newport. It will be a wonderful opportunity for our parish community to come together, enjoy lunch, and engage in child-centered activities.
Our school continues to thrive with engaging learning experiences and opportunities for connection. As Easter approaches, please don't forget to start preparing those Easter bonnets and contribute to our chocolate donations and raffle ticket sales. The Easter bonnet parade is always a highlight of our school calendar.
Recently, our teachers engaged in a six-hour session of first aid professional development to ensure the safety of our students, each other, and our community. Additionally, our teachers have been involved in weekend masses, attended middle and senior camps, and participated in after-school professional development every week. All of this is in addition to their exemplary teaching and care of our students, as well as nurturing parent partnerships. I wish to acknowledge and thank our dynamic staff for their dedication to their profession and our learning community.
The year 5 / 6 students enjoyed their camp at Sovereign Hill last week. The staff reported that our students were engaged in learning about the traditional land owners, the Gold rush era, the contribution of the Chinese, British and Celtic cultures and the dispositions we can draw on to problem solve, adapt and endure challenges. The year 3 /4 students will be attending their overnight camp at Sovereign Hill this week so we are sure they too will have a great time!
Our Foundation students have settled in well, and they enjoyed their first full week at school. These wonderful children have enriched our student community and we look forward to seeing them all continue to thrive. Parents and caregivers we love to hear and share stories of our student’s successes. Be sure to read below about our Cruz and his outstanding performance in the freestyle event and district competition.
Our Fundraising Social Group (FSG) had a fantastic turnout for its first event, with many more offering to help organize future activities. Thanks to Kate and the FSG team, we've launched the Color Run for SMM, with funds already nearing $7,000. Your support is greatly appreciated as we aim to fulfill various purchasing targets identified by students, teachers, and caregivers.
Last Thursday, the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) introduced their vision for instruction, emphasising individualised teaching and evidence-informed practices. At SMM, we are committed to implementing the MACS 2030 Flourishing Learners strategic plan, focusing on data-informed academic pillars and instructional excellence.
Next week marks Catholic Education Week, a time to celebrate our schools and achievements. SMM will be represented at St. Patrick's mass in the cathedral by our school captains and liturgy leaders. Additionally, St. Margaret Mary’s will be featured in the local Star newspaper during Catholic Education Week. Our foundation 2025 enrolments continue to be strong so please spread the word and let families know in our community that enrolments are open.
There are many key events yet to happen this term so please check the dates in this newsletter. As NAPLAN approaches, we encourage a calm approach both at home and at school. While our students perform well in NAPLAN, it is only a snapshot of student data and will be used alongside our professional assessment design to inform each child’s plan for learning.
Take care,
Colleen McCambridge
Principal
Congratulations Cruz!
We are thrilled to congratulate Cruz V. in Grade 6 for his remarkable achievement at the recent Westgate Swimming Gala. Cruz showcased his exceptional talent and determination by securing second place in the competitive freestyle event. His outstanding performance didn't stop there as he continued to shine in the district competition, clinching another impressive second place. We look forward to celebrating Cruz's future successes as he continues on this journey. Stay tuned for more updates on Cruz's achievements!
Chelsea Graham
Cash For Cans
We have been learning with the children about looking after our environment. We encourage everyone to participate in our recycling initiative by collecting uncrushed cans and plastic bottles. Not only does this benefit the environment, but it also contributes to our fundraising efforts. When you donate to Victoria's Container Deposit Scheme, consider nominating SMM as the recipient for the funds from cans collected.
Follow our socials for the latest learning posts from the classroom
St Margaret Mary’s students are independent life-long learners inspired by Gospel values and empowered with a sense of purpose and responsibility. They confidently engage with others and are equipped with skills to adapt to an ever changing world.
Each week, students who embody our values, apply the school mindsets to learning, work hard to improve or persevere to deliver on learning objectives are awarded a class award. The students who earned an award in the past weeks are:
Week 5
Week 6
Seniors Camp
The grade 5 and 6 students visited Sovereign Hill last week and had a great time exploring the 1850s goldfields. Students experienced gold panning, bowling, candle making, and the amazing Aurora light show. Life was certainly tough for kids back then and our students were able to have a little taste of what life was like on the goldfields.
Maths News
At St. Margaret Marys, we're dedicated to fostering a passion for maths in our students, recognizing its importance in daily life. We appreciate your cooperation in bringing your children to school for the recent testing days, which provided valuable insight into their progress in mathematics.
This year, our curriculum prioritises a strong foundation in mathematics, beginning with a focus on numbers before delving into various strands of the Victorian curriculum: Number, Algebra, Measurement, Statistics, and Probability.
In our classrooms, we foster exploration of mathematical concepts through hands-on activities, group discussions, and real-world examples. Our goal is to make maths engaging and relevant, helping students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the subject.
Our teachers create a supportive learning environment where students feel comfortable taking risks and learning from mistakes. Through tailored instruction, we address the diverse needs of each student, ensuring they are both challenged and supported.
We encourage parents to join us in supporting their child's mathematical journey by promoting a positive attitude towards mathematics at home, highlighting its practical applications, and reinforcing numeracy skills. Together, we can help our students succeed in this vital subject.
Thank you for your ongoing support in nurturing young mathematicians at St. Margaret Marys. If you're able to assist with creating resources for our program, please let us know. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Listed are some digital resources that support maths learning:
Math Manipulatives | Math Playground
Polypad – Virtual Manipulatives
Math Apps | The Math Learning Center
Sincerely,
Anne Ablinger
Mathematics Leader
Cybersafety Sessions
This term and throughout the year St Margaret Mary’s has partnered with the Inform and Empower Cybersafety group. Students log on with their classroom teachers and interact with a live streamed incursion centering around staying safe online. Inform and Empower also offer an online parent session for our school on Thursday March the 21st. We would love to see all parents attending this important presentation. Use this link to register: bit.ly/21march2024
Registering also allows you to access the recording at a later date if you can’t make it.
Learning about emotions is crucial to wellbeing. Emotions affect our relationships for better or for worse! Often emotional development can be a root cause of student conflict or difficulties.
The rate of emotional development can vary from person to person. Some young children may show a high level of emotional skill development, whereas others do not develop the capacity to manage their emotions until well into adolescence. Emotional development may be affected by other factors such as Autism & ADHD where extra support may be required.
Children will often have issues & conflict with others until they have developed the capacity to:
Recognize & comprehend their own feelings & emotions
Recognise & comprehend the feelings & emotions of others
Control their emotional responses & regulate behaviour (self regulate)
Manage and express strong emotions constructively
Demonstrate empathy for others
Competence with these skills enable us to effectively navigate our interpersonal interactions with others. These skills are central to social emotional learning because they are crucial for later academic achievement, mental health & social connectedness (positive relationships) with others.
If students can recognise a feeling or emotion in their body, they are more empowered to take action & greater responsibility for themselves, e.g. recognising that I am angry might help me to lower my voice, relax my shoulders & take a few deep breaths before lashing out or getting physical. This is what is known as ‘self regulation’ and ‘self management’ which is essential for success in all areas of life.
Do you recognise any of these emotional expressions in your child?
Emotional expression includes:
Physical responses, e.g. stomach aches, headaches, rapid heart beat
Behavioural displays of emotions, e.g. a smile, a sigh, a laugh, tantrums, sulking, crying, clinginess, hitting or biting, disruptive behaviour & defiance
Thought & judgments associated with feelings, e,g. “It’s too hard”, “I’m no good at…”
What parents can do to help
Here are some ways to work in partnership with teachers to develop emotional learning:
Recognise and embrace conflict/issues as opportunities to learn
The message the emotion or behaviour sends is that the child needs support & guidance to learn how to cope and handle the situation
Tune in to your child’s feelings and emotions
Tuning into your child’s emotions involves:-
noticing their body language
listening to what they are saying
listening to how they are saying it
observing their behaviour.
noticing how they manage their feelings and if they have any coping strategies
This allows you to respond more effectively & offer more specific guidance to help them manage their emotions. Children need to be taught how to recognise these indicators in others.
Build an emotional vocabulary
Does your child know the words to be able to express the emotion?
Does your child feel the same degree of emotion with each event & have the words to express the degree of emotion? E.g. Is the anger so encompassing that you can’t think of anything else right now (fuming) or is the anger fleeting(annoyed)?
Help children and young people recognise and understand emotions
Read stories & discuss the actions/reactions of the characters. How might the characters be feeling? Do you think they handled the situation in a positive way? What were the consequences? How might they do it differently next time? How would you have handled the situation?
Let your child know that it’s normal and OK to have a range of emotions and feelings.
Sometimes children worry that they are the only ones who feel this way and are sometimes surprised to learn that others can feel this way too. This can be settling for some children.
Set limits on inappropriate expression of emotions
It’s also important to set limits on aggressive, unsafe or inappropriate behaviours.
Be a role model
Showing children & young people different ways you understand & manage emotions helps them learn from your example.
Touch base with us at school
Getting a teacher’s perspective can help develop a more complete picture of what is occurring & whether it is occurring in both the home and school settings.
Seek professional help.
If your child is struggling with
regulating their emotions
the behavior and big emotions are persistent and
negatively impacting your child’s life, or if it’s
linked to other troubling shifts in mood and behavior
visit the GP to discuss your concerns & determine the next steps.
Kath (Student Wellbeing Leader)
Combined Schools Day
St. Margaret Mary's Primary and Sacred Heart Primary are coming together for a special combined schools day on Thursday, March 28th! 🎉 We'll focus on St. Joseph, the patron saint of our parish, with a liturgy and activities. Preps to Year 2 stay at St. Margaret Mary's, while Year 3-6 students head to Sacred Heart at 9am.
The Feast of St Joseph
We invite all families to join us for the Feast day of St. Joseph on Sunday, March 17th, at the 10am mass at Sacred Heart Newport. It will be a wonderful opportunity for our parish community to come together, enjoy lunch, and engage in child-centered activities. If you are able to help out on the day, please contact Tony Nicholson on 0417307716. We hope to see you there.
Easter Raffle and Donations
The FSG is Kicking off the first term with our first fun fundraiser of the year and we need your help.
We are asking our SMM families for donations including Easter Eggs, Easter items (such as books, craft activity etc.) and any bags or baskets you may have to be used in our Easter Raffle.
It will be really appreciated if items are dropped into the office by Monday 18th March.
Raffle books and info will be sent out with children in the coming weeks.
Prizes are drawn after the AMAZING Easter Bonnet Parade on
Monday 25th March
If you have any questions or have time to help, please reach out to me Claire 0424389167
Thanks in advance for your support – SMM FSG
Colour Fun Run
We are one week into the Crazy Colour Day and have raised $7000 for our school. If you are yet to do so, please sign up at funrun.com.au.
Come along with your family and friends to celebrate Term 1 and being a part of our fantastic school community. There will be a sausage sizzle (donation), drinks at the bar and you can bring your own dinner, or even order it to be delivered. The kids always have a fabulous time running around together. Why not organise a table of families from your class to have a catch up? We look forward to seeing lots of people there.
Footy Tipping is Back!
And starting on the 7th of March!
Join the SMM Footy Tipping competition for 2024. $25 entry fee with prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
Click the link below:
https://www.footytips.com.au/comps/2024_SMM_Footy_Tipping?p=stmm3015
Lots of Socks Day
Thursday March 21st
Lots of Socks is a Down Syndrome International campaign to create conversation and bring awareness of Down syndrome. The idea behind the Lots of Socks initiative is that all types, shapes and sizes of the same thing can be unique in their own way, and yet do the same thing. Everyone understands what socks are, how they look and what they are for, and that no two socks are the same. Lots of Socks is a campaign to create conversation about diversity, uniqueness, inclusion and acceptance.
This year, St Margaret Mary’s will use the Lots of Socks theme created by Down Syndrome International and celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on Thursday 21st of March. On this day, we ask that your child wear socks of their choice to school. They can be bright, colourful, short or long, the choice is endless!
2025 Prep Enrollment
We have started our open mornings and look forward to hosting our 2025 Prep Information session on March the 18th at 7pm. If you know any families seeking to enroll in our vibrant community please let them know.
Emmanuel College News
Last Monday a group of students and staff went to Reaching Out in the Inner West of Melbourne to hand out meals, non-perishable food items, clothing and hygiene items to those in need. Students saw the impact of their efforts in helping others, and the experience served as a powerful reminder of the importance of community outreach and the positive change that can be achieved.
Year 12 students retreated to Rutherford Park and Anglesea last week, where they participated in outdoor team building activities, sessions on study and social skills as well as a variety of ‘self-management’ activities such as tai chi and yoga. One of the guest speakers, Michelle Newland, is an Ambassador for the Summer Foundation and it was inspiring for our students to hear Michelle’s story of resilience.
The Music program at Emmanuel College starts in Year 7, with students learning how to play an instrument for two semesters. Some students have never played an instrument before, some are trying new ones for the first time and it is great to see everyone enjoying their music class.
It was wonderful to welcome families at St Paul’s Campus, Meet the Principal last week, where visitors heard from College Principal, Dr Janine Biggin and had a campus tour with student leaders.
Year 7 2026
Do you have a child in Year 5 this year? Applications for Year 7 2026 close on Friday 16 August 2024.
If you would like to apply, a prospectus can be obtained:
- Via the College website under the Enrolment Information tab or by following this link:
- By registering and joining us at a College event
- Or by coming in to see our friendly staff at reception of either campus
We look forward to seeing you at a College event soon.
Yours sincerely
Jenny Hendricks