Dear Families 

Our staff and students returned after the long weekend, rested and ready for the remaining weeks of this term.  Across the school, students are focused on making the most of learning time in classrooms and this is particularly important as we move towards the end of Term 1 when we send home the first Progress Report.  Supporting students to achieve at least a year’s growth during this school year, all teachers have a focus on ‘learner expectations’, these include students coming to classes ready to learn, knowing the learning goal for each lesson and what success looks like and then actively engaging with learning tasks with the aim of achieving the stated learning goal for each lesson.  

Celebration Assembly

Last week we held our first Celebration Assembly for the year. During this assembly we recognised and celebrated individual and class success through a range of values, attendance, engagement and achievement certificate presentations.  My thanks to the parents and family members who joined us on the day. Please enjoy the photos below. 

Parent Connect

It was lovely to spend time talking with parents and family members who came in for our first Parent Connect session last week.  As well as getting to know a little more about each other, over a cup of tea or coffee, participants were asked to identify areas of interest to explore together in future sessions.  Participants are keen to know more about the following: 

• Volunteering and potential relief work 

• Literacy programs across the school 

• Career education, work-based learning (work experience) and transition to Year 11 

• Safeguarding 

• Hearing more about specific learning areas and seeing the facilities and resources 

Participants also started a discussion about communication methods and information sharing between school and home.  A suggestion was made to create an online survey for all parents about best ways to communicate.  We will develop this survey in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for this to arrive in your email or SMS inbox. 

Reporting and Communicating Learning Progress with Parent/Carers 

Term 1 Prep – 10 Progress 

Teachers have started to enter assessments for the first reporting phase of the year. Students in years 7-10 will receive an Application to Learning report including an assessment for student effort, attitude, behaviour and organisation in each subject. Prep to 6 students will receive a Primary Progress Report.  Progress reports will be posted home to parents/carers in week 10.  

Evidences of Learning  

Sharing evidence of student learning and progress is an important part of the DECYP’s Communicating with Families policy.  St Marys District School Teachers will be sharing student work samples and evidence of progress in learning with you throughout the year.  Evidence of learning will include examples of student work and/or assessment and may take the form of completed tasks, quizzes or tests, projects, photographs or even recordings.  Evidence of learning will be shared with you in a variety of ways, including at parent teacher interviews and face to face conversations; through online platforms or sent home with students or in the post. 

Passenger Conduct Code for School Bus Services 

Bus travel is an integral part of how many students get to and from school each day. A significant number of St Marys District School students travel on buses to attend school and all students have the right to feel safe while waiting for, travelling on, boarding and disembarking from buses. 

The Code sets out the expected standards of behaviour for students when using a bus.  It provides guidance and processes for bus operators and drivers to follow when a student breaches the Code, ensuring that all students and breaches of the Code, are treated in a fair and consistent manner. 

All operators of School Bus Services have adopted the Code as conditions of travel for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Passenger Transport Services Regulations 2013. 

The Code has been developed by the Department of State Growth in consultation with the Tasmanian Bus Association (TasBus), the Department of Education, Catholic Education Tasmania and contracted school bus operators. 

You can access further information at:  Passenger Conduct Code for School Bus Services – Transport Services 

Warm regards, 

Carolyn Watson 

Principal 

Arrr, on Thursday 6 o' March, the school be seized by a band o' maraudin' pirates o' all ages.  There be many a colorful interpretation o' pirate garb, with plenty o' beards, eye patches, and a heap o' imaginative fun in the playground.  Enjoy these here photo gallery o' our crew, matey! ?‍☠️

In 2025, students in Grades Prep-10 will once again be participating in weekly wellbeing lessons, guided by The Resilience Project’s wellbeing program.  Students will complete lessons focussing on Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness and Emotional Literacy.  

This curriculum aligned program is a whole-school approach to teaching and supporting positive mental health in the classroom, staffroom and wider community.

Watch this space in the newsletter for more information about how we are creating more resilient students through this learning.  

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Monday 3 March

The day before our trip we met Reyne and Graham who came to our classroom and shared their knowledge of different species of birds and told the students about migration and nesting birds.  They also gave the students some advice on how to get the best experience from the excursion we were going on.  The quieter and calmer we walk on the beach, the more birds we will see.  

They brought with them some treasures such as replica bird eggs and feathers. They answered the students’ questions and enjoyed the enthusiasm of Grade 3-4.  

Tuesday 4 March 

A warm day greeted us at Scamander Conservation area where we began our adventures.  

Reyne met us and walked us down to the beach and told us about the two activities we would be completing at our first location.  

The groups used the binoculars to spot the different birds and were very excited to see about 10 different ones. They used bird fact sheets to identify the range of birds they were seeing.  For most of the students it was the first time they had used binoculars and they were very interested in how to use them properly following the clear instructions from Reyne.  

The other activity saw Reyne taking the students for a short, but very informative walk along the shore.  The students learned about the different ways birds find food and the different food they eat.  They also spotted different items of treasure such as shells, feathers and different types of seaweed but left it there on the beach where it belonged as habitats and food sources.  

They also learned about the different ways in which the beach is used, with areas for dogs on leads, free dog walking and spaces just for the birds.  

We then travelled back on the bus to our next stop at Diana’s Basin.  Here the students joined in with several different activities whilst also enjoying some free time playing on the sand and lunch on this beautiful day. 

They learned about birds nesting areas and all about their eggs as well as playing some animal related board games on the beach.  They had great fun dressing in bird masks and trying to get food from a variety of different jars representing different areas on the beach such as pebbles, long grass and sand. This was a team effort and lots of fun was had. There was also an animal version of celebrity heads to practise their questioning skills and knowledge of animals.  

Reyne was a knowledgeable and enthusiastic leader, and the students learned a lot from her. 

Thank you to Reyne and Graham.  

Year 7 students have been delving into the fundamentals of colour theory, exploring how artists use colour to create mood, contrast, and harmony in their work.  We began by learning about the colour wheel, primary, secondary, and tertiary colours, and how different hues interact through warm and cool tones.  Students then experimented with colour mixing and created their own colour wheels, testing tints, shades, and complementary colour schemes.  

Sports science students have begun the year investigating systems of the body.  We have begun with learning about the musculoskeletal system.  Students have participated in practical and theory-based learning.  To demonstrate how our muscles work together with our skeleton and how our muscles attach to bone, we made working models of our hands.  

Students had to follow specific instructions to create their hands.  They then tested them by trying to pick up certain objects.   

In Term 1 we are focussing on several key elements:- barista training, nutrition, food preparation skills and food presentation.  Images provided, buttermilk pancakes are from class on Friday 14 March.

Recipe

1½ cups self-raising flour

2 tbs caster sugar

375 mls buttermilk

1 egg lightly beaten

1 tbsp melted unsalted butter

 Directions

Sift flour into a bowl.  Add sugar, buttermilk, egg, and butter.  Beat until batter is smooth.  A few lumps may form as the butter cools, this is not a problem.

Cook pancakes one at a time in an oiled non-stick pan.  A combination of unsalted butter and oil is good to grease the pan.

A substitute for buttermilk is full cream milk and yoghurt. (4 parts milk, one part yoghurt)

Digital Skills for Families is a collection of information and resources to help families support their child's learning at home. 

It includes information such as: 

1. Information videos
2. Support online learning: A guide for families
3. Tips for supporting online learning at home
4. More information about supporting online learning

Please consider visiting the site for more information.  

Digital skills for families - Department for Education, Children and Young People

It's almost Photo Day!  The day when we all bring our biggest smiles and wear heaps of hair product!  

2025 Photo day will be on 21/3/2025.  Please ensure your child is in appropriate uniform on the day - We'll do our best to keep them tidy until photo time!

HOW TO ORDER:

A flier has been sent home with students that details how to order individual and family photo packs.   This flier contains an Access Key, which you will need to order photos.   If you have not received the flier or have lost the access key, please contact the School Administration Office.  

Introducing Safeguarding Lead for SMDS

Our school has appointed Michele Bennett as our Safeguarding Lead. Safeguarding Leads are appointed in every DECYP school and CFLC in Tasmania to help ensure children and young people are known, safe, well and learning.

As Safeguarding Lead, Michele will enhance our efforts in promoting and nurturing a culture of safeguarding at our school. This will enable us to better support the wellbeing of all our students and reinforce the understanding that keeping children and young people safe is everyone's responsibility. By improving our safeguarding culture, we can create a safer and more supportive environment for all.

Please support Michele in her role!

For further information on Safeguarding in Schools and CFLCs, please visit the DECYP Keeping children safe through safeguarding webpage.

Be a M.A.T.E. – Make Allergy Treatment Easier

Having a food allergy can impact on a child’s participation in school and other activities.

With support, understanding, and education of children, parents/carers, and the wider school community, everyone can include children with food allergy and help to keep them safe.

Anyone can Be a M.A.T.E. by following these five easy steps:

Get help straight away if a mate gets sick (even if they don’t want you to)

If a mate who has food or insect allergies is showing these signs tell them to stay where they are and get a teacher or person in charge straight away:

• Finding it hard to breathe
• Skin that is bumpy, red, and itchy
• Swelling of the face, lips, and eyes
• Vomiting
• Looking pale and feeling dizzy

More helpful information and resources are available from:  Be a MATE allergy aware education - Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia  please have a conversation with your child today about being allergy aware when at school.  

These notices have been sent home to parents in the last fortnight.  If you did not receive one and would like to receive a copy of the notice, please contact the school office on 63 723 900.

PRIMARY

• Primary Athletics Carnival 18 March 2025