Week Eight has very quickly come and gone! I would like to commend our students for the way they are applying themselves at a time that we can all get quite tired. I want to continue to encourage students to share their gratitude, to be of service to others and continue to strive to be their best as the term draws to a close.

Events

By all reports our Athletics Carnival was a success! I would like to apologise for my absence but once again thank the staff and families for their support in ensuring our students continue to participate in these important opportunities. This Friday, our students travel to Temora for the Western Region Carnival. I also want to acknowledge the support provided by families to transport students to this event. Good luck to all of our students who have decided to represent our school!

Focus on Reading

Over the remainder of the year I want to push a focus for our students to be reading on a regular basis. The number one bold goal for our System Wide Catalyst professional learning is that every child is a competent reader. There’s also a lot of research that links parent engagement and student learning. Over the coming weeks and early next term there will be a push for families to encourage reading at home and for staff to provide opportunities for students to read at school - following this, we will hold a parent evening to go through some reading strategies, Maths activities and other useful information that can build home and school partnerships.

Possible Online Safety Opportunity for St Mary’s

At our recent Childsafe Advocates Meeting, we were presented with some information on Childsafe standards and the compliance and expectations upon schools to ensure that we are addressing them. There is a potential opportunity for schools in our Western Region to link up with an expert in this space, Kira Pendergast. This would potentially be information, learning and ongoing support for students, staff and families. In the coming weeks, I will gauge the interest of families to participate in an online session with Kira through a parent survey.

School Sign

You may have noticed the trenches being dug at school today and electricity connected to our new school sign. This is very exciting as this new project will be up and running by the end of the term. Further to this will be the opportunity for us to plant some established trees that will provide further shade for our students in the warmer months.

Thanks again for your ongoing support and connection with the school - it is certainly valued.

Ryan