Welcome Back!

It is lovely to see everyone back safe and sound from a restful break with their family.

This term will bring us many exciting events with the main dates to remember being:

• Northern Region Cross Country - 3 May (Tomorrow)
• Catholic Schools Week - 6 - 10 May
• Scholastic Book Fair - 7- 9 May
• Open Week Tours - 6 - 9 May
• League Shield Gala Day - 7 May
• Mothers Day Mass - 9 May
• NAPLAN - 14 - 16 May
• Athletics Carnival - 17 May
• Dental Check - 30 May
• Arch Cross Country - 4 June
• School Explorers Program - 31/5, 7/6, 14/6 & 21/6
• School Photos - 24 June (Please note change of date)
• Stage 2 Showcase of Learning - 5 July
• End of term - 5 July

Welcome

We are very excited to welcome the Foran family back to Crookwell and the St Mary's School Community. Many of you will remember Archie who started Kindergarten at St Mary's in 2017. Archie and his sister Sophia have commenced in Year 2 and Year 1 this term. Welcome back, Lucinda and Brad!

ANZAC Day

It was wonderful to see approximately fifty St Mary’s students at our ANZAC Day March last Wednesday. We also had students participate in the Dawn Service and the Taralga services. 

Our students and teachers marched proudly demonstrating wonderful community spirit.  Our Captains and Vice Captains represented the school at the ANZAC day Mass, presenting the Wreath for a blessing.

Thank you to all the parents that brought your children on Wednesday. Thank you also to the staff that assisted.

A very big thank you to Sharron, Katyanna and Nathaniel Waters for the donation of a rosemary shrub. This will be planted by our garden club and will ensure a supply of rosemary for ANZAC Day well into the future. 

Catholic Schools Week - Engaging Faith, Minds & Community

Next week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week. We do this by offering service to others in our community. This year our Catholic Schools Week activities include:

We ask that the students participating in community visits to please wear the full winter uniform, with the exception of Year 5 who will wear their sports uniform.

Please spread the word about our Open Week Tours. If you know someone that is interested in learning more about St Mary's or who has a child ready to start Kindergarten in 2020, we welcome their visit.

Our Catholic Schools Week and Mothers Day Mass will be held at St Mary's Catholic Church at 9.30am next Thursday. All mothers, grandmothers, families and parishioners are welcome to join us for this special occasion. Year 3 will also serve a cup of tea and biscuit in our Hall after, for anyone who is able to join us.

School Photos - Change of Date

Please note that our school photos will now be taken during Week 9 on Monday 24 June.  Ordering can be done online by inputting the 9 digit code AN3 WE9 3JZ on the Advanced Life website http://www.advancedlife.com.au/ . Envelopes were sent home last term.

Year 6 Camp

Year 6 had a wonderful week in Narrabeen at the end of last term. All the students demonstrated a ‘can-do’ attitude, trying everything that came their way.

I cannot thank Mrs. Croker and Mrs. Spackman enough for their time and nurturing care of the students.

A huge thank you to Belinda Tarlinton and Boe Croker for collecting the bus and driving the students to and from the excursion and thank you also to Gaye McManus and Trinity Catholic College for the donation of the bus. It certainly made our excursion more easily accessible.

Once again we received wonderful feedback from staff at the Sydney Academy of Sport about our Year 6 students. They were impressed with how well they looked after one another, how they all 'had a go' and how supportive they were of each other. Again, I was thrilled to hear this feedback. The children are a credit to their families and our school!

Please read the student reports in this newsletter.

Uniform Matters

In Term 2 we transition into our winter uniform. We allow two weeks at the beginning of the term for students to still wear their summer uniform if the weather is warm. Please be aware that if your child chooses to wear their summer uniform it must be the complete uniform, not parts of both.  

Could I ask that everyone please check their child's clothing to make sure they have the correct uniform items? It is very easy for items to get muddled up at school. At the moment quite a few students are missing items which are named.

In preparation for the cooler months, you might like to order our school coat, which is a warm bottle green parka style coat, from our Uniform Shop. No other coats will be permitted, however, bottle green gloves and beanies may be purchased elsewhere. 

Some other reminders about our school uniform- hair accessories must be in the school colours only, earrings must be sleepers and studs and no nail polish is to be worn to school.

Clubs

This term our Maths Club will resume next Tuesday afternoon at 3.15pm-4pm.

We will also be offering a Lego Club each Tuesday, Chess Club each Wednesday and Garden Club each Thursday, all held during our lunch play break.

Morning Club has resumed this week. We have found this club to be extremely well supported and commit to offering this service each day from 8.00am.

Student Pick Up

The street directly out the front of St Mary’s is a Bus Zone from 8.30am-9.30am and 3.00pm-4.00pm. Please be aware that occasionally parents dropping their children off in the mornings in this bus zone have been fined by the police.

We recommend that in the afternoons if you have come to collect your children by car that you walk with your child to the crossing on Wade Street to cross safely out of the Bus Zone. 

NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN
tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process - it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.
NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

The assessment window for NAPLAN Online is extended from three days provided for the paper test to nine days. This is to give schools more flexibility in scheduling and accommodate schools that may have fewer devices.

The NAPLAN Online assessment window starts on Tuesday 14 May and finishes on
Friday 24 May 2019. The online tests must be taken in the following order:

Excerpt from:

https://www.nap.edu.au/resources-new/resources

School Counsellor

Our School Counsellor, Kate Dean, will be available next Thursday, 9 May. Please contact Belinda to make an appointment.