St Marys District School
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13 Gray Road
St Marys TAS 7215
Subscribe: https://stmarysdistricts.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

st.marys.district.school@education.tas.gov.au
Phone: 03 6372 3900

13 April 2017

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

It has been a busy term where the vast majority of our students have settled into good routines. As with the start of all academic years I would like to share a few reminders. Parent help is warmly encouraged and greatly appreciated. To come onto any Educational Department site everyone must have a ‘Working With Vulnerable People’ (WWVP) card and it needs to be presented at the office when you sign in on each occasion. This does not include the 10 minutes or so when children are dropped off or picked up. If you wish to come for parent help, please make arrangements with your child’s teacher to ensure that a convenient time is scheduled for you and this suits the arrangements for the teacher and students. Having all parent help on the same day can be a logistical nightmare. Spread help over the week is the ideal scenario and this way everyone can have an opportunity to be involved in this very rewarding work. In regard to being onsite, the Department has strict protocols around visitors. All visitors must sign in at the office and present their WWVP card. All department staff, including teachers, must have a WWVP card. Your support in this matter is greatly appreciated.

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2017

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy) commenced in Australian schools in 2008. Each year, all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in common national tests which assess:

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Language Conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
  • Numeracy.

The scheduled dates for the tests in 2017 are Tuesday 9 May, Wednesday 10 May and Thursday 11 May.

The benefits of participating in NAPLAN testing:

  • NAPLAN tests the skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy.
  • NAPLAN results provide valuable information on how your child is progressing against national minimum standards of literacy and numeracy skills expected for each year level.
  • The NAPLAN tests provide you as parents with an individual report that shows your child’s results and a comparison of your child’s performance against all other Australian students in their year level.
  • Teachers use the NAPLAN results to determine your child’s areas of strength and where future focus is required and how best to provide support or extension activities.
  • School teachers use the online NAPLAN Toolkit to analyse your child’s results. The Toolkit provides detailed information right down to the individual question with links to teaching strategies.
  • Principals, senior staff and others use NAPLAN results to inform school planning and to allocate resources and support including informing decisions around targeted programs and initiatives for individuals and groups.

The best way you can assist your child is by helping them to feel comfortable about the nature and purpose of the tests, and assure them that the tests will give them an opportunity to show what they have learned in class.

We currently have no students in years 3, 5, 7 or 9 who are exempt from testing due to being on the Register of Students with Severe Disabilities (SDR) or English as an Additional Language (EAL).

If you require information about the process to withdraw your child on the basis of religious beliefs or philosophical objections to the testing, please contact Ros Smith on 63 723 900 prior to Friday 5th May.

http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/naplan.html

Work will commence on the refurbishment of our Gym over the school holidays, with new air conditioning, insulation, acoustic dampening and a new floor. Capital works processes for our major re-development continue, with a master plan all but complete and ready to be signed off by government. I would like to thank our School Association and in particular our school chair for making himself available to attended numerous meetings around the development of the master plan. Thank you to parents who met with the architects and Department liaison during the teachers meet and greet evening. Your feedback was appreciated and provided some valuable comments that have been taken on board.

I attended a professional learning session last week and they touched on a matter that I felt would be a timely reminder. It was clearly articulated that adolescents who have interrupted sleep will have difficulty in coping with not only the day-to-day aspects of life, but may crumble under any sort of challenge. At this session, it was strongly stated that parents should encourage their children by making sure their mobile phones are on silent and not located in their bedroom, as a good night’s sleep is crucial to assisting young children and teenagers with coping skills. It was discussed how lack of sleep can be a precursor to anxiety and depression. It is certainly worth a serious conversation with your child about this subject and possibly experiment during the holidays having a night free from using the mobile phone. #keepsmewellproject

Congratulations to all our staff for their work during Term 1, which has been a busy and complex term. I wish all staff a restful and refreshing break. Well done to all our students for their work application, it has been particularly heartening to see our students taking their learning seriously. All students at St Marys District School are working to the best of their ability and we will continue to support, encourage and develop the culture of this great school.

Have a great break everyone and see you next term, which will be even busier!

School Calendar

Sync Calendar

School Calendar

Term 4 Commences

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

Pre Kinder Group 1 9-10am

All day

Grade 3 Sleepover

16 Oct 2025 - 17 Oct 2025

TasBGas Construction Skill Set Student interviews - Ref Tanya time tbc

All day

Construction Skill-Set Interviews

All day

HoL PL - KG, WI

All day

Kinder Excursion- St Marys Town Hall Children's Week

All day

Pre Kinder Group 2 9-10am

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

NC/LC Enrolment Interviews

All day

Grade 9 Camp - CYC Blue Lagoon

27 Oct 2025 - 29 Oct 2025

Immunisation Catchups - if required

All day

Grade 5 Camp Rostrevor

29 Oct 2025 - 30 Oct 2025

LIL 10.30-11.30 St Marys Hall

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

Transition visit 4 BPS Y6 to SMDS - OPTIONS Day

All day

World Teachers' Day 2025

All day

Student Free Day - Professional Learning

All day

Recreation Day (Northern Tas only)

All day

HoL Pyegana Dairy Co

All day

'Knock Knock' Performance K-4 PAC

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

Kinder Excursion Serpentarium

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 PAC

All day

Sporting Schools Surf Groms Gr 5/6

All day

Secondary Athletics Carnival

All day

PAC/Common Room closed for Student Exhibition Set Up

07 Nov 2025 - 14 Nov 2025

RYDA (Simmons Plains)

All day

National Theatre Company Water Literacy Performance 3-6 2.15pm

All day

National Theatre Company Water Literacy Performance K-2 1.30

All day

2025 Student Exhibition

All day

Year 11/12 EOY Lunch @TBC

All day

LIL 10.30-11.30 Kinder

All day

Inter-High Athletics @ St Leonards

All day

Pre Kinder 9-10am

All day

Recurring event

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Jayden Cooper who has been selected to be part of Cricket Tasmania’s Emerging Tigers Development Programme.

LAUNCHING INTO LEARNING

The St Marys and Fingal Launching Into Learning (LiL) program for 2017 has begun and to kick things off we started with a swimming and water awareness program conducted by Laura Swanson. We held three sessions at the St Marys pool giving children the opportunity to develop confidence and awareness in the water. Children were grouped according to age and with lots of interest, we were able to fill four different groups, each getting half an hour in the pool. Within the three week block it was wonderful to see all children develop their confidence in the water and their love for swimming develop. LiL would like to thank Tanya Greenwood and the Building Blocks team for partnering with us to implement this program, as without them it would not have been possible. We also thank Laura Swanson for her expertise and wonderful nature in working with these little children in our community.

Launching into Learning

TAIKO DRUMMING

Primary and secondary students participated in a rigorous 5 week Taiko Drumming program, funded by the PCYC, culminating in a whole school performance.

This form of drumming is very demanding and required mental and physical concentration by the students during training. Students learnt the history of Taiko, originating in Japan.

The performance was outstanding, with staff and students amazed at the concentration and skill level of the students involved.

Thank you to Mark from the PCYC who ran this course, travelling from Launceston with a van full of drums each week!

Taiko Drummers
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Taiko Drummers
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PRIMARY ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

Unfortunately the weather caused major disruptions to our proposed carnival but students and a reduced number of staff made the rain day a great success. There were some fine performances from our Primary students, who were trying to make the St Marys team to compete at the ENE Carnival. New records were set by Ruby Churchill – 800m, Ava Howorka -long jump, 100m, 400m and Ella Triffett- discus.

The younger students showed they have gained some very good skills and were very willing to participate in their events.

The final scores in the house competition were:

Dalmain - 173
Blackwood - 143
Duncan - 121

Grade

Track Champions

Runner-up

Field Champions

Runner-up

3 Girls

Ava Howorka

Alex Syka

Ava Howorka

Alex Syka

3 Boys

Tysen Gamble

Henry Legge

Daniel Cook

Henry Legge

4 Girls

Amelia Mason/Bella Robson

Katy Bond

Amelia Mason/Amali Lowe

Bella Robson

4 Boys

Ashton Gillies

Izack Miller

Ashton Gillies

Harley Jones

5 Girls

Zoey Jones

Mia Gillies

Mia Gillies

Jazymne Dawson

5 Boys

Jimmy Freiboth

Jack Cropp

Jack Cropp

Benji Bunton

6 Girls

Ruby Churchill

Taylor Jones

Ruby Churchill

Ava Lockwood-Roden/

Coneeka Thow

6 Boys

Elvis Russell

Jack Hendley

Elvis Russell

Max Salter/Eric Trivett

Primary Athletics Carnival
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Primary Athletics Carnival
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SCHOOL VALUES

Our worthy recipients at our recent primary assembly were:

Prep

George Austin – For being a learner and working very hard at learning his sight words.
Theoseph Piscitelli – For being a learner and demonstrating good listening.
Lilly Jones – For being respectful. She is a helpful and friendly class member.
Fergus Burbury – For being respectful by looking after our classroom and helping to pack up.

Grade 1/2

Laena Singline - For demonstrating a great attitude towards her learning by listening beautifully and always trying her best.
Connor McPhee - For being a respectful student who has settled well into his new classroom.
Brodie Faulkner - For being a respectful learner who always follows instructions and tries his best in all learning areas.
Jesse smith - For demonstrating respectful behaviour in the classroom and setting a good example for younger students.
Ruby Hoskinson - For her commitment to improving her writing by continually putting into practice all that she has learnt.

Grade 2/3

Dakoda Davenport - For being a learner by working hard in reading and making good behaviour choices.
Malika Butwell-Blair – For being respectful by always being organised, friendly and helpful.

Grade 3/4

Bro Chippindale - Being respectful by being a fantastic listener at all times.
Helayna McGiveron - Being respectful by always being a careful listener and caring about others around her.
Henry Legge- Being a learner by always applying himself in class and being an enthusiastic learner.
Will Diedrichs - Being a learner by always listening respectfully and tackling each task with enthusiasm.
Ayla Clark - Being safe by removing dangerous objects from the playground.
Bradly Hoskinson - Being safe by placing sharp objects found in the playground in the bin.

Grade 4/5

Amelia Mason - Being a Learner by demonstration her application to all tasks.
Olivia Bonner – Being a Learner and helping others.
Logan Wilson - Being a Learner and doing a great job with his creative writing.

Grade 6

Evie Simpson – Being Respectful by encouraging and helping peers with their Mathematics.
Samuel Jordan – Being Respectful by helping younger students in our school in a kind and respectful way.
Jasmine McKimmie – Being Safe by assisting Etta in getting to the bus safely every day.
Jack Hendley – Being a Learner by making an effort with his handwriting.
Max Salter – Being a Learner by doing an outstanding job with his Student Leader speech.

FINGAL CAMPUS

In Kinder/Prep/One we have been learning to identify the different styles of authors and illustrators.

At the start of the term we looked at stories by Nick Bland and are now learning about the illustrations of Eric Carle.

We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Can You See?

We made our own art using a combination of painting styles and collage to create characters from the story in Eric Carle’s style.

Here are Lexie Gamble (Kinder) and Aiden Woods’ (Grade 1) brown bears and Aaron Baldwin, Bailey Freeman and Ryan Gorham’s (all Grade 1) red birds.

After reading Mister Seahorse we made our own seahorses, developing our fine motor skills by ripping and gluing paper. Many of us learnt to tie knots for the first time giving the seahorse a mane. Here are Indi Howorka and Tayah Rigby’s (both Prep) seahorses.

Kinder students made an animal to play with the mouse in Will You Be My Friend?

Using various paintings as collages. Marley made a snail, Lexie made a lizard and Levi a duck.

Fingal Campus
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Fingal Campus
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LEGO

St.Marys Lego Competition

The Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts Inc. and the Brixhibition event invited all Primary Schools and students in the Northern Tasmania area to compete in the 4th annual Lego Competition running in the first term of 2017.

This year saw Primary Students at St Marys participate in our inaugural Lego Competition. The standard of entries were very high and the judges had a difficult time deciding who the winners were. The guidelines for our competition were overseen by the Tasmanian Brick Enthusiasts who co-ordinate the Tasmanian Brixhibition Lego Challenge each year.

There were 3 winners of our competition who each won a medallion – Aaron Baldwin, Henry Legge and Amelia Mason. The overall winner was Amelia Mason. She won 1 x free pass to a YMCA activity, 1 x free pass to Paringa Archery and a free pass to Brixhibition. She has also been invited to display her winning Lego model at the Brixhibition Lego convention at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Patterson Street, Launceston on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April 2017. We wish her the very best with her entry.

Lego
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Lego
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LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA IN PRIMARY

Grade K/P/1

In English, Kinder Prep/1 students will:

  • Learn to use the sounds we know to spell out words;
  • Learn to identify characters and settings in stories;
  • Learn to identify the beginning and ending in a story.

Kinder students achieve this when they:

  • Recognise and write their names with assistance or independently.

Prep/1 students will achieve this when they:

  • Use their knowledge of letters to write words;
  • Identify characters and settings in stories;
  • Identify the beginning and ending of a story.

In Maths, students will:

  • Learn to recognise common 2D and 3D shapes;
  • Sort out shapes according to their attributes;
  • Revise their understanding of numbers to 20;
  • Apply their knowledge of numbers to 20 using addition and subtraction;
  • Learn to solve word-based problems.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Name common 2D and 3D shapes;
  • Categorise shapes according to the number of sides, corners and curve of sides;
  • Use numbers up to 20 in addition and subtraction questions;
  • Solve word-based problems and explain their thinking.

Kinder

In English, students will:

  • Recognise and write their names;
  • Listen and attend during whole group time;
  • Recognise early concepts of print;
  • Experiment with marks on paper to represent writing and drawing.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Recognise and write their own name with support or independently;
  • Join the class for group time and demonstrate skills in listening during group time;
  • Identify and name parts of a book e.g. title, cover page, author, illustrations, writing, words etc;
  • Make random marks on paper or simple drawings and explain what they have ‘written’ or drawn.

In Maths, students will:

  • Count with 1:1 correspondence to at least 5;
  • Recognise and describe patterns in the environment;
  • Complete puzzles with 8-12 pieces.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Say one number name, in correct counting order, for each object counted in a group of at least 5;
  • Locate and recognise patterns in the school environment;
  • Describe patterns in the environment e.g red, white, red, white or cream paver, brown paver etc;
  • Demonstrate a completed puzzle with 8-12 pieces.

Prep

In English, students will:

  • explore alliteration;
  • learn about the letters c, k, e, h;
  • continue to learn about concepts of print.

Students achieve this when they:

  • say a simple alliteration sentence that includes their name;
  • recognise and name letters c, k, e, h and know the most common sound that each letter represents;
  • identify simple punctuation and beginning and end of sentences.

In Maths, students will:

  • continue to learn how to play new number games;
  • practise counting collections up to ten;
  • continue learning to sort collections;
  • learn the days of the week.

Students achieve this when they:

  • participate in small group and whole class games;
  • match number names, numeral and picture representations up to ten;
  • sort and classify objects and explain their rule of sort;
  • verbally recall the days of the week in order.

Grade 1/2

In English, students will:

  • Learn to use predicting as a strategy to make meaning of texts;
  • Learn how to structure a simple sentence;
  • Learn that vowels can have both long and short sounds.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Use their prior knowledge to make informed predictions about texts;
  • Write a sentence that has a capital letter at the beginning, finger spaces and a full stop. They will re-read it to make sure that it makes sense;
  • Recognise and use long and short vowels in words.

In Maths, students will:

  • Work with addition;
  • Work with place value.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Complete simple addition sums;
  • Recognise that numbers can be made up of tens and units (Grade 2’s-hundreds, tens and units).

Grade 2/3/4/5

In English, students will:

  • Learn the letter patterns associated with sounds, silent letters in words and the origin of words;
  • Use capital letters and full stops in their writing;
  • Explore proper and common nouns, verbs and adjectives in sentences;
  • Begin editing their work;
  • Explore different parts of text, analyse and critique texts.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Apply the letter patterns required to represent sounds in words, use silent letters in words and understand the origins of familiar words;
  • Apply capital letters and full stops in their writing;
  • Experiment with and use proper and common nouns, verbs and adjectives in sentences;
  • Edit their own word and correct errors in their writing;
  • Identify different parts of texts, and analyse and critique books being read.

In Maths, students will:

  • Explore problem solving questions using written and oral questions;
  • Use addition, subtraction and multiplication processes to solve questions.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Understand the written/oral questions and determine how to answer them appropriately;
  • Line up numbers to add, subtract and multiply them and calculate the correct answers.

Grade 2/3

In English, students will:

  • Consolidate their existing reading strategies;
  • Extend their reading strategies.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Apply a broad range of reading strategies to make sense of what they are reading.

In Maths, students will:

  • Consolidate existing knowledge of two digit and three digit numbers;
  • Identify strategies when using addition of two digit and three digit numbers.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Identify two digit and three digit numbers;
  • Read and write two digit and three digit numbers;
  • Explain their responses when adding two numbers together.

Grade 3/4

In English, students are:

  • Planning, drafting and publishing persuasive texts using particular language to convey information and ideas.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Are able to state clearly their opinion on a topic and back up their arguments with evidence.

In Maths, students are:

  • Applying place value to partition, rearrange and regroup numbers to assist calculations and solve problems.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Recognise that 10 000 equals 10 thousands, 100 hundreds, 1000 tens and 10 000 ones.

Grade 4/5

In English, students will:

  • Focus on how words sound and the patterns of these sounds in words;
  • Explore how letters and words look and the visual patterns in words;
  • Explore the meaning and function of words or parts of words;
  • Understand the origins and history of words and the effect this has on spelling patterns;
  • Understand the purpose of adverbs, verbs, adjectives and nouns;
  • Structure, plan and draft their writing.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Understand that English spelling words come from many other languages;
  • Understand that many ways can be used to learn to spell a variety of words;
  • Understand that the origins and the history of words impacts on their use of words in writing and spelling;
  • Apply adverbs, verbs, adjectives and nouns in their writing;
  • Structure, plan and draft their writing for optimal effect.

In Maths, students will:

  • Use the four operations (+, -, x, ÷) with odd and even numbers;
  • Calculate am/pm time;
  • Reading the time on an analogue and digital clock;
  • Partition and arrange numbers;
  • Participate in problem solving and reasoning activities.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Can apply the four operations to create equations from odd and even numbers;
  • Read the time in am/pm time zones;
  • Read analogue and digital clocks;
  • Split larger numbers into smaller units for ease of calculation (partitioning);
  • Explain and justify their responses in problem solving and reasoning activities.

Grade 6

In English, students will:

  • Strengthen their vocabulary through word knowledge.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Break down words to examine their origins and apply this knowledge to similar words.

In Maths, students will:

  • Explore number and place value up to a billion.

Students achieve this when they:

  • Can explain and say the value of digits in large numbers;
  • Use their knowledge of place value to accurately read large numbers.

GRADE 7-10 SWIMMING CARNIVAL 2017

What a fabulous day!!! Congratulations to all participants, you did us proud. What an amazing example of how committing to training will improve your performance. Ten records were broken and it looks great for our trip to the Division One Inter-High Carnival next week.

OLD RECORD

NEW RECORD

Grade 7 Boys 50m Freestyle

Darcey Scott

37.69

36.28

Grade 8 Girls 25m Butterfly

Charlotte Lockwood- Roden

17.93

16.55

Grade 7 Boys 50m Backstroke

Aaron Mason

47.87

42.71

Grade 7 Boys 25m Backstroke

Aaron Mason

19-82

17.62

Grade 8 Girls 50m Backstroke Charlotte Lockwood- Roden

Charlotte Lockwood- Roden

42.53

40.05

Grade 8 Girls 25m Backstroke

Charlotte Lockwood-Roden

18.46

16.56

Grade 9 Girls 50m Backstroke

Anne Stewart

45.61

44.12

Grade 10 Girls 25m Backstroke

Saree Salter

19.62

18.78

Grade 9 Boys 25m Breaststroke

Mason Bucknell

19.10

19.09

Grade 9 Girls 25m Breaststroke

Anne Stewart

21.09

20.18

HOUSE POINTS

1st Duncan: 708
2nd Dalmain: 665
3rd Blackwood: 630

CHAMPIONS

GRADE

CHAMPION

RUNNER UP CHAMPION

7 Boys

Darcey Scott

Aaron Mason & Bailey Barnes

7 Girls

Evelyn Stewart

Bridie Aulich

8 Boys

Fraser Russell

Jake Kerr

8 Girls

Charlotte Lockwood-Roden

Tahlia Randall

9 Boys

Mason Bucknell

Hogan Reid

9 Girls

Anne Stewart

Ella Rowntree

10 Boys

Sam Dufty

Jack Whelan

10 Girls

Saree Salter

Amy Tatnell

7-10 Swimming Carnival 2017
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7-10 Swimming Carnival 2017
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SWIMMING TRAINING

Swimmers who made the effort to attend morning training sessions were treated to another visit from Shane Gould and special guest Milt Nelms. Milt is an elite swim coach who works with the US Olympic Swim Team as well as many other countries. He has trained Ian Thorpe, Dana Volmer (4 Gold Medals) and Natalie Coughlin (12 Medals).

Milt was so impressed with the enthusiasm of our squad and their desire to improve and learn he came back for a second visit, sharing valuable information on starting, race preparation and controlling nerves before the inter high!

Our students really enjoyed Milt’s sessions and the change in their swimming was instantly visible. It was very generous of him and Shane to donate their time and expert knowledge.

Milt heads off to the USA next week to train more Olympians.

INTER-HIGH SWIMMING CARNIVAL

On Friday 31st March a strong contingent of secondary swimmers travelled to Launceston for the annual Inter-High Swimming Carnival. We were up against Riverside, Kings Meadows, Queechy, Exeter and Scottsdale. Some students had been training before school twice a week with Mr Wardlaw and Mrs Fyle. Mr Wardlaw also organised visits from Shane Gould and Milt Nelms who spoke to the students about improving their stroke through listening to and feeling the water. It was fantastic to see the improvement in fitness and stroke of the students who came regularly to training sessions and we are proud of their commitment, resilience and support of each other.

We started off with the medley relays and tried to blow the nerves away with the first swim. It is always a bit of a shock swimming 50m events in a 50m pool for our students who are used to the 25m. Our first (and only) win came with the junior girls Division B freestyle relay. Congratulations Lani Hass, Kate Aulich, Ria Oliver and Erinn Spilsbury. 2nd place for the senior girls Division B freestyle relay- Laura Sliskovic, Lolita Whytcross, Ella Rowntree and Nikayla Dawson. Other relay place getters were the Grade 9 boys and girls freestyle relays.

Other placegetters included: Charlotte Lockwood-Roden, Anne Stewart, Hogan Reid, Mason Bucknell, Aaron Mason, Bailey Barnes, Bayley Oliver-Bowling, Connor Tuck, Leo Taylor, Evelyn Stewart, Saree Salter, Lochie Aulich and Elijah Harvey. Our students certainly did us proud!! Just to place in any of the events was a huge effort considering our student population in comparison to the other schools in our division.

We had a few students away sick and had to rely heavily on our reserves throughout the day’s events. A huge thank you must go to Hamish and Ella Rowntree. Hamish swam up a grade for the Grade 10 boys and Ella filled in for three extra events!! Also thank you Elijah Harvey, a fantastic attitude and no fuss commitment to the team, filling in extra events all day without complaint.

Outstanding individual swims on the day came from:

Mason Bucknel l- 50m Breaststroke - 2nd place
Charlotte Lockwood-Roden - 50m backstroke - 2nd place
Hogan Reid - 50m Freestyle - 2nd Place
Aaron Mason - 50m backstroke - 2nd Place
Anne Stewart- 50m Freestyle – 3rd Place
50m Breaststroke - 2nd Place

Lastly, congratulations to Saree Salter who wins the annual Elizabeth Death Award for the most tenacious swimmer at the Inter-High. Saree had 8 events and swam like a trooper! She would just get back from swimming one race and have to go and marshall for the next race!! That happened all day and also for the three years prior as well. Thank you for your commitment to our secondary school swimming team Saree over the last 4 years!! You will be missed.

Unfortunately, St Marys finished sixth overall and we were relegated to the Division Two carnival for next year. We certainly were not disgraced and look forward to a fantastic opportunity to try and win next year’s event!

Laura Swanson

Inter High Swimming Carnival
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Inter High Swimming Carnival
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GRADE 2/3 SCIENCE

In 2/3 French we have been learning about living things. On the 16th March we had a visit from Parks and Wildlife and we got to learn about some of the features and lifecycles of Australian wildlife species. When we came back to class we posed questions about what we would still like to find out about the species we saw and we drew some pictures of them. We think they look pretty good!

Questions we posed:

Jaxon - How strong is a crocodiles’ jaw?
Tyra and Charlotte - What do penguins eat?
Henna - What colour are penguins eyes?
Tyler and Dakoda would like to find out more about Tassie Devils.
Mia - How many penguins are there?
Wally - How many species of birds are there?
Dalton - How much can a python eat?


Science Grade 2-3

KINDER FUN DAY

The Kinders missed the rescheduled Carnival but had a fun-filled afternoon on the Tuesday with lots of parents and the Grade 6 students to cheer them on. They balanced the eggs and bean bags, jumped in the sacks, hung out the washing, bowled the huge fit balls and then rode their mounts into the record books in the Valley Handicap!! One problem though led to the vets calling an inquiry when a couple of nags threw their heads rather than their shoes.

Kinder Fun Day
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Kinder Fun Day
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EASTER IN PRIMARY

On Friday 7th April, our Primary students from both campuses created their Easter Bonnets ready for their annual showing and parade. The bonnets were made from readily available materials and being creative was the goal. The standard was very high and our judges found it quite difficult to decide on winners. Our winners, this year, received craft packs instead of the usual chocolate fare. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who came to support their children and for those who did the judging.

Our winners for 2017 were:

Kindergarten – Shiloh Faulkner
Prep – Noah Smith
Grade 1-2 – Joint winners: Laena Singline and Ruby Hoskinson
Grade 2-3 – Daniel Cook
Grade 3-4 - Bella Robson (worn by Ayla Clark)
Grade 4-5 – Jay Bhardwaj
Grade 6 – Mahalia Baldwin

Easter Parade
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Easter Parade
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Easter Grade Winners
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Easter Grade Winners
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CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM

It’s hard to believe first term is nearly over. The chaplaincy program has been busy this term with the very popular breakfast club and two gardening groups (Grades 2/3 and 3/4) working on projects in the primary playground. The children have some great ideas to make the playground gardens more attractive and fun. They have already made Kodedamas – Japanese hanging garden balls.

We have been blessed with beautiful weather to be able to get outside and garden, however some days you can feel the autumn change in the air, leading to the coming winter. The changes of the seasons remind me of the changes and the seasons of our lives – changes of going from primary to high school, graduating, going to university and getting a job, as well moving into your own home or having a family. Some people find life’s changes exciting and look forward to the next adventure, whereas others find change hard to cope with, they think back to how life used to be and find it hard to find the pleasures in their current life. Wherever you are at in life’s changes and coping with those changes, it is important to reflect on how you are feeling and, if needed, find someone you can talk to about how you are feeling and coping. The changes in life are easier when you have a friend or someone you can trust to share with.

Enjoy the sunshine, the rain and the rainbows

Hannah Rubenach-Quinn – Chaplain.

Learning in Families Together (LIFT)

Mrs Rebecca Mason is the LIFT coordinator for Kinder – Grade 2 families.

LIFT is about celebrating your child’s achievements and helping families continue to be connected with their child’s learning.

The school libraries now have a Games Lending Library K-2. The Learning Intention is that by playing games at home with parents, students will further develop turn taking and good sportsmanship, while practising mathematical skills and literacy skills they are learning at school e.g. Monster Bingo practises colour recognition.

Students are encouraged to borrow games during normal library lessons. In each game pack there should be a recording sheet to record who played, who won and the date. This information is being collected to help determine the success of the games initiative and support its future funding. Your help in ensuring this information is recorded is greatly appreciated.

Parents wishing to participate in regular classroom programs need a Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) card. The school office is happy to assist you with this process.

Students have requested lunchtime games once a week through winter. If you feel you could assist the supervision of this once a month (and hold a WWVP card) please let your child’s teacher know or contact Bec Mason at the school on 63 723 900.

LIFT one-off events do not require a Working With Vulnerable People card. Last year the committee organised a Father’s Day Breakfast, helped with the local Art Expo Evening, offered parent Workshops with a Behaviour Therapist and ran “Feed Me a Story” cooking sessions with small class groups of students, their parents and their teacher. This year we intend to continue “Feed Me a Story” cooking, host a special Mother’s Day event and a Winter Event. Watch this space!

Coming up: LIFT Mother’s Day Event Kinder – Grade 2
What: Mother’s Day Devonshire Tea (students will be creating invitations soon)
Who: Parents/Carers/Grandparents and siblings of students Kinder - Grade2 and Launching into Learning families.
When: St Marys Campus – Thursday 11th May, 10.30am-11.30am
Fingal Campus – Tuesday 9th May, 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Where: St Marys Campus – The School Café
Fingal Campus – The Launching into Learning Room
Cost: $5 per adult

This event does not require a Working with Vulnerable People card.

RSVP by Friday 5th May: to your child’s teacher or the main office.

SINGING LESSONS

Available from Term 2!

Private one-on-one vocal training every Wednesday morning at the St.Marys School Music department.

To book please contact Megan on:

0499 690 076 or
guy.megan@yahoo.com.au

Megan is qualified in a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honours as well as Grade 8 in Vocal training and performance.

There are currently limited lessons available – so please book early to save disappointment.

$20 per lesson.

Thank you.

Blackwood Ranch is now offering riding lessons!!!

We have weekly, fortnightly or monthly lessons available for the following groups:

Kindy, Pet, Play & Ride 4 – 6 yrs ($25)

Wed, Fri: 10.00 – 10.35am and 11.00-11.35am
Sat & Sun: 10.00 – 10.35am

Lil’ Buckaroos 7 – 9 yrs ($35)

Sat & Sun: 10.45 – 12.15

We are located 12 minutes from St. Helens. There are limited spots available and bookings are essential.

For more information about the riding lessons or to make a booking, please visit www.blackwoodranch.com.au or contact Catelyne on 0400280103

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