PRINCIPAL - Liz Jones
Celebrations of Learning
There have been many and varied learning activities on offer this week with photos in the newsletter capturing our students learning in the following areas:
- Water Safety - Life saving sink or swim incursion for Senior students
- Market Garden produce from paddock to plate - sold at our MacKillop market - thank you for your support in purchasing our varied produce
- Discovery Centre learning - binary numbers in Seniors and Data in Juniors.
- Visual Arts creations
- Creative poems on colour
- Origami animals in Japanese
As part of our commitment to our students’ safety and the Water Safety Certificate, next week our Year 3 students will undertake their intensive swimming lessons at Paul Sadler Swim School. The intensive lesson structure will include lessons on how our students can stay safe in aquatic environments, at the beach and around pools.
Welcome to our 2022 Foundation Students (On-site Orientation Session 2)
On Wednesday we held our second on-site 2022 Foundation Orientation Session. We are really proud of our Transition program which includes a range of Google Meets and on-site sessions for our newest students to become familiar with their Foundation teachers and classmates. We warmly welcome our 2022 Foundation students, parents and family members to our school and look forward to working in partnership with them on their child’s educational journey.
Student Leaders Process – Year 5 students
Our Year 5 students are preparing for their 2022 student school leaders speeches. The following positions are available for our Year 5 students to apply for:
- School Leaders (x 2)
- Faith Leaders (x2)
- House Leaders (4 x 1 per House)
- Learning Leaders (x2)
- Environmental Leaders (x2)
Our student leaders play a very important role in our school community. They are ambassadors and role models for our school and participate in many and varied activities from leading assembly each week, guided school tours, Mass Ministries, sporting events, growing and selling garden produce. Our current Year 6 school leaders have been exemplary role models to all students in our school community. We are very proud of the leadership potential and development of our students and the school values they display in their interactions and leadership roles.
Year 6 Mass and Graduation
Our Year 6 students will be celebrating their Year 6 Mass on Thursday 9 December at 6.00 pm at Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Princes Hwy Narre Warren. Parents/adults will be required to show their vaccination status on entry to the Church. Please ensure you arrive in time have your vaccination status viewed by a staff member.
On Tuesday 14 December at 5.30 pm, our Year 6 students will be celebrating their Graduation Dinner and Ceremony. The format of the evening will be as follows:
- 5.30 pm - Students and Staff Graduation Dinner in the Allen Hall
- 6.00 pm - Parents and family members arrive via the Lomas Gym. Parents and adult family members will be required to show evidence of their vaccination status for entry to the Graduation Ceremony.
- 6.30 pm - Parents and family members to join Year 6 students in the Allen Hall for the Graduation Ceremony.
Please note - All parents and family members entering the school grounds must comply with Government vaccination requirements - vaccination status will need to be viewed before entry to the school
2022 Teachers and Classes
2022 planning is well underway and we are in the final stages of allocating teachers and classes. We hope to publish this information to parents over the coming days. In 2022 our Specialist subjects will be expanded to include Music. Music is currently being offered to students via their Term 4 Performing Arts Inquiry. Moving forward will continue to offer The Arts in Term 4 incorporating Dance and Drama. Music will be offered in Semester Two, 2022 as part of our students’ Specialist learning area. Other Specialist subjects for the 2022 school year includes Physical Education, LOTE - Japanese, Discovery Centre - Robotics, Coding and The Arts - Visual Art (Semester One) and The Arts - Music (Semester Two).
SIMON Learning Management System – Reports
Hard copies of Semester Two Reports and Student Learning Portfolios will be distributed to students and parents on Monday 13 December. Reports will also be uploaded to PAM for families to view electronically. We hope you find the Semester Two Report and Student Learning Portfolio valuable documents to highlight and celebrate your child’s learning journey.
PAM – Parent Access Module
Information about PAM, with detailed instructions, was emailed via Operoo to parents last week. If you did not receive the email - please ensure you check your ‘junk’ folder. PAM will begin at the beginning of 2022. PAM will provide families with a one stop place to submit and view the following information:
- Parent Notified Absences (replacing SZApp Absentee e-forms)
- Student Medical Profiles (replacing Operoo)
- Permission Forms (replacing Operoo)
- Parent Teacher Interviews (replacing PTO)
- Sick Bay Notifications
- Student Attendance
- Access to your child’s Assessment Reports (Semester One and Semester Two)
- Student Learning Awards
- Daily Messages and upcoming events
- Student Timetable
- Student Permission eforms
If you require support to set up or access your PAM account, please contact frontdesk@marymacnarre.catholic.edu.au
Return of Student Chromebooks and Family Charger
Student Chromebooks and family chargers will need to be returned on MONDAY 6 DECEMBER, 2021 to ensure they are packed away in their charging carts over the Summer Holiday period. Repacking the Chromebooks and chargers back into their carts takes several days and your co-operation in returning them on 6 December is very much appreciated.
School Advisory Committee Annual General Meeting (SAC AGM)
The School Advisory Committee Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 23 November in the Staffroom. As a school community we warmly welcome Stephanie (mum of Charlotte FSL) to the School Advisory Committee as a new parent representatives for 2022 – 2023. The role of the School Advisory Committee in providing recommendations to school events and policies is most valued and appreciated. We are most appreciative of the opportunity to work in partnership with the SAC and value their insights, perspectives and recommendations. Our sincere thanks to Maya Giampa (Chairperson), Jamie Vena, Lynette Bell and Sarah DeKoning (Staff Representative) for their commitment to the School Advisory Committee over the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jamie Vena and Lynette Bell (retiring Parent Representatives). Jamie and Lynette are to be commended for their tireless efforts on SAC, their feedback and the many and varied events they have participated in over their years at Mary MacKillop. We are very fortunate to have their commitment and dedication to our school. We also acknowledge the time, effort and commitment of Maya Giampa who will be taking a year of leave from the Chairperson role to undertake new adventures with her family. We wish the Giampa family all the very best with their travels interstate and look forward to welcoming Maya back in 2023.
We warmly welcome our 2022 - 2023 School Advisory Committee:
