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

5 June 2019

Newsletter Articles

PRINCIPALS REPORT

Attendance

Everyday counts when it comes to attending school.

Why is regular attendance at school important?

The link between school attendance and children's achievement levels is well established. The more time children spend at school, the more likely they are to experience school success. When children miss school, not only do they miss the learning from that day, they also miss out on important time with their classmates which can impact on their self-esteem and lead to isolation.

Regular school attendance will mean that your child has a better chance in life.

  • They learn better.
  • They make friends.
  • They are happier.
  • They have a brighter future.

Why must I send my child to school?

Under Tasmanian law, you must make sure your child of school age is enrolled and attends school all day, every school day unless they have an acceptable reason. Illness, doing work experience or competing in a school sporting event are acceptable reasons for being absent from school.

The DoE Attendance Policy states;

“Consistent attendance at school is critical to achieving positive educational outcomes and keeping students engaged in their learning. Parents/guardians have a legal obligation to ensure a child is enrolled in and attending school, or is registered for home education. “

Avoid keeping your child away from school for:

  • birthdays
  • shopping
  • visiting family and friends
  • if they sleep in
  • looking after other children
  • haircuts

Routine medical or other health appointments should be made either before or after school or during the school holidays.

What should I do if our family is going on a holiday in school time?

You are encouraged not to schedule holidays during school time. If your family holiday is during school time, let the school know in advance and talk about what arrangements can be made for your child.

Do I need to let the school know if my child has been away from school?

Yes, you must let the school know the reason why your child has been absent. If possible, advise the school beforehand.

The following chart highlights the impact of non-attendance over time. Viewed in this context, the implications of regular absenteeism are startling. The chart shows the cumulative effect of persistent non-attendance over the period of compulsory schooling.

Days absent

Total Days

Number of Terms

Number of years missed

1 day per week

451

9

2 years 1 term

1.5 days per week

676.5

13.5

3 years 1.5 terms

2 days per week

902

18

4 years 2 terms

3 days per week

1353

27

6 years 3 terms

5 weeks per term

1127.5

22

5 years 2 terms

Average 5 days per term

220

5.5

1 year 1.5 terms

Average 10 days per term

440

11

2 years 3 terms

Reporting Update

This year we will see changes to our Prep - Grade 10 reports that are being distributed to our families at the end of this term. Whilst this is still some weeks away, I would like to give parents prior information about these changes. Reports for Prep to Grade 10 students include feedback and information on student growth, progress and personal and social capability. They will be in the form of written comments and assessment against the Australian Curriculum and we also provide a rubric which will provide further information about student's work habit attributes. This year the Department of Education has issued a guide around word limits and students in Prep to Year 6 will have a written report of "Up to a total of 300 words personal and relevant to the student" and students in Years 7-10 will have a written report of "Up to 40 words per learning area, personal and relevant to the student". This is a significant change to what we normally write.

Please note that there are some changes to the following information due to a number of our teachers having long service leave at the end of this term. Taking this guide into account at St Marys District School we have developed a two step process for our mid-year reporting to ensure we are providing the most timely and useful feedback to students and parents about student learning.

In week 9 of this term, parents will receive a report similar in structure to the progress report that was sent home in Term 1. This report will include:

  • Work habits rubric for Prep to Grade 10 students
  • Assessment ratings for Years 1-6 in English Maths and Science
  • Assessment ratings for Years 7-10 for each learning area/subject taught

In the first 2 weeks of this term, Three Way Interviews will be held for parents, students and teachers. During these interviews:

  • Written comments will be shared and discussed with students and parents
  • Work habit rubrics and assessment ratings will be discussed in more detail
  • Future learning goals will be set.

Further information about the Three Way Interview process will be shared in the near future. Our goal is to meet with or talk with 100% of our families during this interview process as we believe these discussions are crucial in supporting students’ achievement and success.

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

BE BRAVE AND SHAVE

On Wednesday 29th May, Monique, a student at St.Marys District School and Photjana Escobar, the mother of a former student of St.Marys District School, participated in Be Brave and Shave,

Monique planned to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation in March and set her hopes high with a goal of $3,000.00. The fundraising was finally able to begin during the first week of May. Monique’s Facebook page spread the word and soon donations were rolling in, along with heartfelt messages from many friends and family. On the day of the shave, Monique’s page had raised over $1,500.00 alone. However, during these three weeks the community had caught wind of this goal and decided to do their part.

The Bay of fires netball team raised a significant amount for this worthy cause, backing up the incredibly brave girl on their team. Alongside the netball there was footy tipping and Marie Owens donated face painting time and money. Not only did the local community pitch in, but there were also fundraisers run by students and teachers within the school community.

Mrs Fyle organised a staff morning tea that raised $70.00. Mrs Hodge and the Hospitality Enterprise students prepared a lamington drive to raise donations. They sold over 700 of these tasty lamingtons raking in a total of $800.00.

When the fateful Wednesday came around, students and teachers showed their support by coming to school with a gold coin donation and the crazy hair. Every class contributed to a spiral coin line and we had fun estimating the total amount of dollars in the spiral. This coin line added up to over $400.00, an amazing feat for St.Marys School. The hospitality group then prepared Churros to be sold before the shave started. By this time the donations had reached over $3,000.00 and Monique was preparing herself for the big shave.

The whole school and many members of the community watched on as both Photjana and Monique lost their heads of hair. It was an emotional time watching the courage of these two women and there were more than a few tears in the crowd. If a woman’s hair is such an important part of material beauty then these two inspiring people have become even more beautiful by giving it up for the betterment of others who are suffering. Monique raised over $4,000.00 for the Leukaemia Foundation. She and Photjana have truly inspired our entire community.

A big thank you to Rachel McGiveron for giving her time to come and shave these two inspiring ladies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX5Y0avSu94

Cows at St Marys District School Farm

At the start of 2018, Pyengana Dairy allowed us to have five calves to hand rear. They were raised on a special milk powder which was made up every morning and afternoon when they were very young with it being cut back to once a day when they were a bit older. When two of them were old enough to be weaned, we returned two of them to Pyengana Dairy and we were allowed to keep three of them. One is a pure-bred Friesian and the other two are Friesian-jersey cross. The Friesian is black and white and her name is Daisy. The others are Tulip and Larry.

As you can see in the photos, Daisy has grown very big in a short time. They are tame and can be patted and handled.

YEAR 9-10 ART

In Term 2, students have been studying about Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist- 1907-1954, and how she created art work based on her own life experiences. The students were given a practical project to take a visual image from one of Frida’s paintings and create their own work based on a similar idea. The students were then asked to create their own picture/painting based on their life experiences or what is most important to each student to be visually displayed to an audience.

Julia Bibby has kindly shared her thoughts and feelings in two pieces of work she has created in her art lessons and at home, showing her interest and involvement in expressing her own individual ideas.

Guest speakers to our school, Julia and Kat Carter, spoke to the teachers and the Grade 9/10 students about staying chatty and speaking to people when they seem stressed or unable to manage normal daily routines and Julia Bibby’s art supports what they were saying to the students.

FUN MATHS TIME IN EC1

This week students have been working on counting forwards and backwards using a number ladder, recording their counting and sharing their findings with their classmates.

We have been exploring the connection between division, multiplication, addition and subtraction through number problems, as well as understanding simple fractions.

HAGLEY SCHOOL FARM VISIT

Please enjoy our video of our trip to the Hagley School Farm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyYANhOgQco

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING CHALLENGE

On Thursday 23rd May, twenty two students from Grades 8, 9 and 10, headed to Launceston at 7.00am to compete in the annual Science and Engineering Challenge.

This is a national competition that allows Grade 9 and 10 students to become involved in problem-based learning. The St Marys team also included several Grade 8 students to make up the numbers. Students work in eight teams of up to four members to compete against other schools. The competition is designed to encourage the students involved to implement their own learning and creative problem solving approaches in a variety of hands-on tasks.

The day is divided in two, with each team attempting two different challenges, except for the bridge builders, who concentrated on the construction of their design for the entire day. There were seven other schools competing against us and at the lunch break we were in a very creditable second position behind last year’s national champions.

Excitement mounted and tiredness set in as the afternoon session progressed and it was a pleasant surprise to find that we had held onto second position coming into the bridge challenge. Unfortunately, the prior experience of other teams enabled them to pull away from us in this final stage and we ended up in fifth place overall, a very pleasing and commendable result.

We would like to congratulate all students involved for their efforts on the day. They conducted themselves in a mature and focussed manner, showing great courage, respect, aspiration and sportsmanship in their endeavours. They represented the school with pride and made us proud to be associated with them. Well done team St Marys.

Keziah Nunn & Sue Bennett

Science and Engineering

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLeNzA1bNfM

LAUNCESTON TORNADOES BASKETBALL TEAM

Last Thursday we were fortunate to have a visit from the Launceston Tornadoes Basketball Team. The girls were great and although a little cold when we started outside they soon had our students moving well.

It was great to see the enthusiasm in all grades and we will endeavour to arrange follow-up Basketball clinics for all grades.

The manager has left a number of free tickets for Tornadoes’ games. If you are attending could you please let Mrs Fyle know as we wouldn’t want them to go to waste. It is a spectacular event and very exciting.

Round 10 - Sat 15th June Elphin Stadium 6.30pm
Round 11 - Sat 22nd June Ulverstone Stadium 6pm (double header)
Round 12 - Sat 28th June Elphin Stadium 6pm (double header)
Round 13 - Sat 6th July Elphin Stadium 6.30pm
Round 15 - Sat 20th July Elphin Stadium 6.30pm

STATE ATHLETICS CARNIVAL

St Marys District School was represented by twelve athletes at the PSST State Athletics Carnival held at the St Leonards Athletics Ground on Friday 10th May.

As usual the weather was far from pleasant. Throughout the day there were showers, drizzle, wind and to top that it was bitterly cold. However, our students and the many hundreds of students from all over the state did themselves proud.

The competition is very strong but the ENE area represented by schools in the North-East of our state held their own and showed a high level of resilience in such miserable conditions.

St Marys students to do particularly well were:-

Jaxon Harrison 1st in Country Grade 4 long jump
Wally Freiboth 2nd in Country Grade 4 400m

These results are taken on a countback of results compared with city and country schools.

Within the competition we did very well with the jumping events with Ava Howorka (1.10m) 2nd and Helayna McGiveron (1.05m) 3rd in the Grade 5 High jump, Daniel Cook 1st and Kayden Rigby 3rd in the Grade 5 High jump both with 1.15m and Jaxon Harrison (3.95m) 2nd and Byron woods (3.27m) 4th in Grade 4 Long jump.

The efforts on the track were very good with Ava, Byron, Izack, Jaxon, Helayna, Tysen, Angus and Wally all being very competitive.

ASSIGNMENT – HOMEWORK SCHEDULE

Class

Teacher

Assignments /Homework

Due Date

All Grade 7 - 8

Heather Marshall

Learn common elements

Grade 7 – 8 B & C

Heather Marshall

Negotiate their recipe experiment and make sure they have their report writing rubric. The report will be due in the last week of term. Negotiations around the report deadline need to be directed to Mrs Prebble.

Report will be due in the last week of term.

SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

SECONDARY

Tourism and Hospitality Showcase – Selected students

Tennis Skills Clinic – Grade 7 and 8 students

Grade 10 Hoodie Order Form – Grade 10 students

WHOLE SCHOOL

School Photo envelopes sent home – Family photo envelopes available at office

MISCELLANEOUS

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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