Dear Parents,

We are in the Olympic season which means rich conversations in classrooms about
the athletes, the variety of sports and the cultural traditions of the games. We are hopeful that the weather improves so we can enjoy some of our own Olympic themed competition over the next fortnight. Let us hope that the Rugby 7’s give us much to cheer for with Sharni Williams representing our town and country.

Literacy

Our bold goal in the Canberra Goulburn Archdiocese is that every child will become a competent reader.

Every day at St Mary’s, we use a range of MultiLit resources to support our students in Literacy. K/1/2 are using Initialit and we are using Maclit and Reading Tutor for Intensive Learning Support for some students in Year 3-6. Some resources are for a whole class groups and some resources are for small groups or individuals.

Library Borrowing

Please remember that Library lessons are every Friday with Ms Murray and students may borrow and return chosen books on this day. We are also opening the library at lunch times during Term 3 for children who wish to read and exchange books more often. This is a great option especially in the colder months of the year.

Book Week Celebration

And last, but not least, it’s time to get planning for our Book Week parade for 2021. The theme is 'Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds' and every child (and staff member) is invited to come dressed as their favourite book character. It’s always a highlight of Term 3 and loads of fun. Our Book Week parade is scheduled for Friday 20 August. That’s just 4 weeks away!

Have a lovely week everyone!

Jannine

At St Mary’s we believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, valued and respected. Your children are precious to us and we want to make sure that everyone comes to school to learn and be their best. In the newsletter this term we have been discussing what bullying is and strategies for you to discuss with your child to manage bullying if it is occurring. Here are some of those strategies in more detail:

Fogging - best used when being teased or put down 

“Fogging” involves the student who is the target of the bullying behaviour, responding to teasing with neutral statements or by indicating they don’t care, thus not inflaming the situation. The bully may become so bored they will leave them alone. The student being targeted can repeat these messages whilst walking to safety, near friends or a teacher, e.g.  “I don’t care” or “go away, leave me alone.”

Robotic Voice - best used when being harassed 

“Robotic Voice/Talk” involves the student who is the target of the bullying speaking like a robot, with the tone of voice and the words remaining unchanged. They keep repeating themselves, again walking away from the situation or bully as they speak. e.g. “I don’t care” repeated over and over in a neutral voice.

“I” statements – useful to show feelings towards bullies. 

Students who use “I” statements may feel empowered because they have attempted to take control of the situation rather than walk away or call a teacher. The bully may begin to empathise with the student’s feelings or at least cease the behaviour because of the level of hurt involved. E.g. “I don’t care.”

‘EVERYBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO FEEL SAFE AT OUR SCHOOL’

Melissa Hotham - Religious Education Coordinator

Student of the Week

St Mary's is a nut free school. Please NO NUTELLA OR PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES, NUT MUESLI BARS etc.

Thank you.

Our lost property basket is nearly full again and we are only in Week 3! Please label all clothing clearly so we can return items to their rightful owner.

The SHANG family is asked to supply the cake for the Cake Raffle this Friday 30 July.

NO NUT PRODUCTS PLEASE.

Ms Buckmaster and Mrs Hughes are our home cooks this Friday 30 July.

NO NUT PRODUCTS PLEASE

Due to the current COVID restrictions the Annual Trivia Night has been postponed. As soon as we have a new date we will let you know.

Welcome to the Healthy Lunch Box Term 3 update.  As we head into the new school term, a lot of us are experiencing some form of restrictions due to COVID.  Eating well and staying healthy has never been so important for you, your family and the school community.  The Healthy Lunch Box has lots of ideas to keep families busy during this difficult time. 

Lock down cooking

Having more time at home is a perfect reason to get cooking in the kitchen.  Our top 3 recipes to cook in lockdown use simple ingredients, are easy to make and are packed full of nutrition. 

1. Banana bread – get on that lockdown trend and try our banana bread recipe
2. Mediterranean scrolls – delicious for lunch or an afternoon snack
3. Shepherd’s pie – tasty and protein-packed meal with 4 serves of vegies per portion!

Fun activities for kids

You may have seen our Healthy Holidays Guide that we promoted during the last school holidays?  This guide isn't just for the holidays, but is a fantastic resource with lots of activities to keep kids learning through the lockdown such as design a menu or build a lunch box using our online interactive Lunch Box Builder.