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Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
Welcome to the 2020 school year. We had a very positive start on Monday with students keen to share their holiday stories and settle into their new classrooms.
During the holidays, two outdoor projects were carried out which have had a massive impact on the appearance of our school grounds, and we had a great deal of help from parents. Scott Smith spent much of the Christmas holidays volunteering his time driving the upgrade outside the Year 1 and 2 rooms for which I am very grateful. We had two teams of parents in at short notice to help take up the old pavers and lay out the new roll on lawn. Jim Cross brought in his heavy moving equipment and took away the old limestone stage and removed part of the brick wall. Michael Anderson was able to install the grass in our Kindy and Pre-Primary area which makes the area much more appealing.
Mrs Elizabeth Harper, who has taught Kindergarten at St Mary’s for over 10 years has sadly resigned from her position. She will be remembered for her kind, caring nature and endless enthusiasm. We wish Mrs Harper well with her future endeavours.

Family Barbeque
The annual family barbeque is being held at school on Friday 7 February starting at 6pm. It is a great way to welcome new families. There will be some sporting activities set up for those keen for a challenge. The school will provide the barbeques, tables and chairs. You are asked to bring everything else that you need including drinks.

Parent Meetings Next Week
Parents will have the opportunity to listen to classroom teachers explain their expectations for 2020 with meetings being held next Monday and Wednesday evenings. In between there are sessions that I will run and will talk about some whole school priorities. My presentations will be in the hall and the same on Monday and Wednesday so you only come to one.

Times:
Monday 10
Classroom Parent Meetings 5/6 5.45 - 6.30pm
General Information Session 1/4/5/6 6.35 – 7pm
Classroom Parent Meeting 1/4 7.05 – 7.45pm

Wednesday 12
General Information Session PP/2/3 5.45 - 6.20pm
Classroom Parent Meeting PP/2/3 6.25 – 7pm

100 Club Starts This Friday Morning
100 Club is back for 2020 with students, parents and grandparents welcome to join us. 100 Club involves walking or running a 500m course around the school grounds with laps counted and rewards for achieving certain distances. The action starts at 8am each Friday morning and finishes at 8.30am. We have different popsticks for parents and students this year. No dogs please.

Worldly Welcome
Congratulations to Mrs Illman, Mrs Alberti and our current Year 6 students on the artwork they created at the end of last year that greets visitors to our school and can be found on the wall near Year 3. This year’s ‘Worldly Welcome’ continues a tradition that Mrs Illman and Mrs Alberti started at the end of 2018 with their colourful hands piece completed with the help of last year’s graduating class.

Some Vacancies at St Mary’s
Do you have friends interested in finding out more about St Mary’s? We find parents are best form of advertising. We currently have vacancies in Years 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and Pre Primary.

School Fencing
The installation of security gates and fencing around the school that was due to take place at the end of last year has been delayed as we are awaiting a grant to assist in covering the costs of the installation.

Canteen Help Required
Jenelle is currently putting together the canteen roster for Term 1 and would appreciate it if you could spare a couple of hours on a Wednesday or Friday morning.

Ayla’s Book Launch
About ninety people gathered at school in early January for the book launch of Ayla De Castro’s “Maya’s Magical Paintbrush.” Ayla, who has just started in Year 4, wrote and illustrated the picture book that is about a magical way to end homelessness. All of the proceeds of Ayla’s book are being donated towards combating homelessness in Bunbury.

Free Dress for the Bushfire Appeal – Friday 14 February
Our new Year 6 school leaders met with me to discuss fundraising ideas for the bushfires that have ravaged the eastern states. The group suggested a free dress day and asked that we find a volunteer firefighter to come in and talk to students about the job that they do for the community. Please bring a gold coin donation for this worthy cause.

Year 6 students enjoying the first Art lesson with Mrs Toia.

Beginning of School Year Mass
This morning we celebrated Mass with Fr Marlin and he blessed the 2020 leadership badges before they were presented.

Thank You!!

CDF Pay

Important Information

School Photo Day
27 FEBRUARY 2020

Canteen

Community