Principal's Welcome

Batlow is a small country town located at the foot of the beautiful Snowy Mountains. St Mary’s School caters for the compulsory years of schooling from Kindergarten to Year 6.

The school is part of the Canberra/Goulburn Archdiocese and is administered by the Catholic Education Office in Canberra. St. Mary’s is a small school with a current enrolment of 53 students from Kindergarten through to Year 6. The school is committed to providing Christian values and excellence in education to the Batlow region.

At St Mary’s, we aim to develop the whole child, academically, socially, spiritually, morally and physically. Due to our small size, we like to consider ourselves as a large family, where every child is welcomed and treated with respect and dignity.

Mrs Jannine Richards
Principal

Our Staff

The staff at St. Mary’s School are all experienced and very dedicated professionals who are up to date on current educational practices and regularly attend professional development.

Principal	Mrs Jannine Richards
Religious Education Coordinator	Mrs Anne Saunderson
Year 5/6	Miss Maddison Crozier
Year 2/3/4	Mrs Mercedes Brown
Year K/1	Miss Amy Buckmaster
Library	Mrs Elizabeth Murray
Literacy/Numeracy Support Teacher	Mrs Anne Saunderson
Learning Support Teacher	Mrs Justine Hughes
Classroom Support Assistants	Mrs Kate Dobbie/ Mrs Kerrie Ambrose
Aboriginal Education Workers	Mrs Kelly Brown
School Finance	Ms Tricia Marsh
School Admin Officers	Ms Tricia Marsh / Ms Tracee Holland

Latest News

Student Resource Packs

25 Mar 2020

After much preparation our student resource packs will be available for all students today. Parents of students who are at home can collect them from 2pm onwards. Students attending school today will take the resource packs home with them today.

If students are attending school they must come to school with their resource pack everyday as it contains ongoing learning material.

Resource Packs contain:

· School mini ipad

· iPad charger for families that indicated they needed one.

· A laminated card with contact details, student logins and passwords to sites.

· Some stationary and basic equipment

· Workbooks including handwriting, wellbeing, maths and literacy and a Daily Journal

For those who have not already done so, an iPad user agreement will be in the packs for you to sign and return to school. This will be on blue paper.

Parents are encouraged to manage the Resource Packs carefully as they need to remain a tool for students to access over time.

We have successfully tested Zoom at school and this will allow students to connect face to face with their teacher and other students.

Please remember that our mode of teaching/learning is moving to remote learning for all students whether they are at school or at home. We understand that student attendance will vary over the coming days and weeks as parents decide on a daily basis what best meets their circumstances and work requirements.

Google Classroom is the main app from which teachers will communicate with students- teachers will forward a link to Zoom via Google Classroom.

To start with teachers will provide a link in Google Classroom to a daily timetable. In time a weekly timetable will be created.

Our school will still use the Schoolszine email to communicate with parents regularly. Facebook is not our main form of communication.

Thank you to families for letting us know if they have internet at home. We can still support home learning via regular teacher email and a phone call.

On a final note:

If your child is at home, it is up to you to decide how long they need to spend on their school activities. This will be a time for flexible learning, where some of the most important lessons won't be learnt through what is set, but through spending time with you and your family. We also appreciate it will be a juggling act, managing multiple learning times for children. Don't discredit the value of learning through doing everyday tasks such as cooking, gardening and exploring interests together.

Once again, thank you for your understanding and partnership at this time.

March 24 Newsletter

24 Mar 2020

Click here to view the March 24 Schoolzine eNewsletter!

Corona Virus Update

24 Mar 2020

Please see attached the latest letter in regard to advice for schools in our archdiocese. You will note that in line with NSW and ACT Public schools students are encouraged to stay at home where possible.

Families requiring supervision of their children during the school day, especially those parents working in the provision of essential services, have that option for them to attend school.

These students will be supervised at school and will participate in our remote learning program. We are in a period of transition and teachers are working hard to prepare some work for this term and next. I ask for your patience and understanding as we move to align our expectations and activities.

Thank you for your continued support in this ever changing environment.

Letter_to_parents_Covid_19_Update.pdf

Remote Learning Information Update

24 Mar 2020

Yesterday, I forwarded a letter from Catholic Education regarding the archdiocesean response to the COVID 19 situation. As a school we intend to move to remote learning, but it will take a few days to re-establish our programs in this new format. There will be some ‘teething problems’ but all students, whether they are at home or at school will be doing the same learning. Homework, is on hold till this situation resolves.

Our mini-iPads are being updated with new apps and a reference sheet for all login details is being created.

Parents who are keeping their children at home today need to let us know by emailing the school or phoning the front office. Thank you to the parents who have already done this.

Resource packs with equipment and workbooks are nearly finished and we will let you know when you can call in to school to collect them.

For today, students at home are encouraged to continue with Sustained Silent Reading (20 min) and Sustained Silent Writing (20 min). For Maths students may focus on number facts using the following website https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button.

Students attending school today will be introduced to our video conferencing app ‘Zoom’. It is hoped that teachers may run a video conference session each morning in due time. It will include the normal routine of prayer, roll call and a check in. The other major app that will be used is Google Classroom. This has been used over the years at St Mary’s but our younger students will be new to this. Parents will also be emailed by class teachers with instructions in the coming days.

I encourage all parents to consider where their children will be working when learning from home as this situation continues into Term 2. We highly encourage students to be in a common area under adult supervision. Our youngest students will need some assistance. Create a home learning space that supports a daily routine with equipment, their resource pack and iPad charger.

Once again, we expect some teething problems and currently we are taking it one day at a time. As we grow in familiarity with what ‘remote learning’ looks like we intend to create weekly timetables. In the meantime can all parents please complete and submit the few questions we have below to assist us in our planning.

Let us also pause. Our students, your children, are able to come to school if you wish till the end of Term 1. But we are all aware that the situation is updating daily. Please take care and look after your families and know that we are available. Do not hesitate to contact us.

On a final note, could all emails be sent to the central email address office.stmarysbatlow@cg.catholic.edu.au and copy teacher emails in. Tricia Marsh and Tracee Holland will forward emails as necessary in the event that teachers become unwell and need to take leave.

Please fill in and submit the Webform below ASAP.

We will be in touch. Take care.

God bless.

Jannine

https://stmarysbatlow.schoolzineplus.com/form/43

Letter from Director Catholic Education

23 Mar 2020

St Mary’s Primary School will be open for the remainder of Term 1 for any families who wish to send their children to school.

Both lessons for school and at home lessons will be presented in the same mode of learning. That is a “remote” style of learning which a student will experience either at home or at school. School staff will be available to facilitate activities and answer questions no matter whether your son or daughter is at home or at school.

Resource packs are currently being prepared to support student learning programs. I ask that should you wish to keep your children at home for the remainder of Term 1 then you notify us of your intention with a brief email.

Please see attached a letter from Catholic Education Director, Mr Ross Fox, regarding our archdiocesan response to the escalating COVID 19 situation.

Principals_to_Parents_and_Carers_COVID19_St_Mary_s.pdf

Update on COVID-19

23 Mar 2020

The response of all Australian governments to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve rapidly.

You may be aware that last night Education Minister Yvette Berry shared news about the impending actions due to COVID-19 for ACT government schools. I have had contact from our Director of Catholic Education Mr Ross Fox. He has called all Principals together for a meeting later today. By mid-afternoon I will make contact and give you all a very clear picture of what impact this will have for our sector.

Please be assured that I will feedback all information you need and that we are committed to keeping your children calm, confident and happy.

I thank you all for your continued trust and supportive comments.

Know that you are in my prayers. Please stay safe.

Frequently Asked Questions (COVIS-19)

18 Mar 2020

Please see attachment below from Catholic Education.

School_Community_FAQs_Novel_Coronavirus_CECG.pdf

March 17 Newsletter

17 Mar 2020

Click here to view the March 17 Schoolzine eNewsletter!

Life Education 2020

17 Mar 2020

RE: Life Education Thursday 19 March 2020

Please be advised that this Thursday all students from K-6 will participate in a Life Education session. Classes will be covering the following topics:

K/1 Ready, Steady, Go -Students discover the benefits of healthy eating, physical activity, and how our body reacts in different situations.

2/3 All Systems Go -Students join the Captain and his crew inside ‘The Venture’ machine on a tour of the human body.

4/5/6 BCyberwise- Helping students to be wise when it comes to relationships - both off and online.

The sessions are highly engaging and well paced.

The teaching and learning program links directly to the NSW Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education (PDHPE) Syllabus. Each class teacher then reviews the session with their class and extends student learning in subsequent weeks.

Please note the cost of the Life Education program is covered in school fees.

Please note: the sessions will be conducted in our classrooms, not in the van, due to the space being too confining in light of COVID 19.

NAPLAN Letter to Parents

17 Mar 2020

RE: Naplan Practice Tests 2020

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy – important skills that each child needs to succeed in school and life. The NAPLAN tests are designed to help us make sure students are on track with their literacy and numeracy development.

Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in NAPLAN tests for reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

Between Monday 23 March and Wednesday 25 March, our school will participate in NAPLAN Practice Tests, which are designed to give students, teachers and systems an opportunity to practice administering and participating in the online testing environment.

The practice tests consist of a Writing Test for Years 5, and an Omnibus Test (a combination of reading, conventions of language and numeracy) for Years 3 and 5. As this is intended to practice participation, the questions are not equivalent to NAPLAN testing in May, and no results are available from the Practice Tests.

To see the types of interactive features of NAPLAN Online, visit the public demonstration site. It is a valuable resource to support a student’s understanding of the online platform. St Mary’s students will be accessing this site within their classrooms as well.

If you have any questions about NAPLAN Online, please contact your child’s teacher.

For more info:

The actual test dates for Naplan next term are between:

Tuesday 12 May and Thursday 21 May.

Please note these dates in your calendar. Apart from illness, all students in Year 3 and 5 are to be at school between those dates so they can complete the required tests.