95A Railway Street North, Altona 3018 Principal: David Kelly Ph: 9398 4842 www.smaltona.catholic.edu.au

Parish Priest: Fr Shabin Ph: 9398 2964 altona@cam.org.au

Dear Parents No. 2 10th February 2010 Thank you to the many families and friends that attended our Beginning of the School Year Mass and then joined us in the school grounds for a picnic meal. Hopefully our new families experienced the welcoming community that is St. Mary’s. To come together as a school community and celebrate the Eucharist is always a special occasion. This was even better with the performance of the Preps who did such a magnificent job with the Reflection at the end of Mass. It was a pleasure to present our School Leaders, House Captains and Junior School Council Representatives with their respective Leadership badges. A successful night like this doesn’t just happen but is the result of a lot of planning and preparation by a number of people. A very special THANK YOU to: Mrs Olive Chodowski (our Religious Education Leader) for her planning and overall co-ordination of the Mass. Mrs Angela Hamilton (Performing Arts Specialist) for her co-ordination of the music and choir for the Mass as well as the Prep Reflection song. Thanks also to our Prep teachers, Ms Britt Densmore and Mrs Cathy Sims for their assistance. Thank you to the staff for their work and support in preparing for the night as well as their attendance and participation. Again to all our school families who made the effort to come along and be involved. A Special Thank You to Ben London and Jarrod Pye; who on behalf of the Parents & Friends, organised the purchasing and selling of the drinks. Thank you to the other members of the P & F who assisted as well as the parents & Grandparents who assisted with the pack up at the end of the night. Many hands made light work. Thank you. I believe we have something special here at St. Mary’s but we do need to continue to build on it. I look forward to strengthening this partnership with you throughout the year. ANAPHYLAXIS: We have a number of students in our school who are anaphylactic, which means they have serious allergic reactions. In our particular case many of our students have an allergy to nuts but also eggs, shell and white fish, kiwi fruit and peas among other things. If these students eat any food products that contain any of these foods or traces of these foods they could be put into a life threatening situation. We are asking for your co-operation particularly if one of these students is in your child’s class, that NO sharing of food takes place. These students are well aware of what they can eat but if you reinforce with your own child that these children are not able to ‘eat’ everything that other children can and to please not share their own food with them. On special occasion days e.g. birthdays, class teachers will have a ‘treat’ that these students can eat. Thomas Yacono Prep S Daniel Ciavarella - Year 1/2 HT Samuel Pelns, Christian Galea & Lucas Gardina - Year 3/4HK. Jamison Lehrer - Year 3/4M Andrew Sougleris & Oscar Devetak - Year 3/4 V. Grace Moon -5/6L Mackenzie Pace & Chloe Zuvela - Year 5/6 C. Livinia Pace - Year 5/6 K. COMING HOME TODAY: Is some Important Information about the school and specifically your child’s class. Please read it carefully and perhaps keep it somewhere safe where you can refer back to it when needed. The whole school information is attached to today’s newsletter email and the information specific to your child’s class is being sent home as a paper copy. As not all prep parents have subscribed to our newsletter they will also receive the whole school information as a paper copy.

David Kelly, Principal

EDUCATION IN FAITH Reconciliation Dates:

Rite of Acceptance Masses weekend Sat 25th Feb 6pm or Sun 26th Feb 10.30am

Reconciliation Family Workshop Wednesday 8th March 7pm SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Wednesday, 22nd March at 7pm.

We pray together

Give us the kindness to hear

with compassion, to offer support,

loving comfort, and care.

Give us the courage to do what is needed,

the wisdom to choose what is right and fair.

Give us the vision to see what is possible.

Give us the faith that will help pave the way for a

present that is hopeful, a future that is peaceful.

Give us a heart to bring joy to each day.

"We must take things quietly

and just do what our good God

enables us, and no more." St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 1875

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

* All members of our community who are sick or

in need of our prayerful support.

Weekly Class Mass

On Friday 24th February Year 3/4HK will be attending

the 9:15am parish mass. Family and friends are invited to

sit with, celebrate and join the children in prayer.

Parish News My contract as the Chaplain of Australian Catholic University at St. Patrick's Campus formally ends on 5th of March 2017. However my last day at the campus will be Thursday, 16th of February 2017, after which I will be fully available in our community . It was a great opportunity and honour for me to serve the campus for the last three years and I thank Archbishop Denis Hart for giving me such an opportunity to work amongst the young people and staff of the Australian Catholic University. Fr. Shabin

May our Children flourish – Here at St. Mary’s Parish we hold the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility of our parish. Our commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel. Attached to this week’s bulletin (church bulletins only) is our Commitment Statement to Child Safety.

Mass for families & Youth

commences at St. Mary’s parish on Sunday 12th

March at 5pm. All Welcome ______________________________ Christian Meditation takes place every Thursday at St. Mary’s. If you are interested in joining this group please phone Lucy at the Parish House on

9398 2964. MARANATHA

Prayer & Spirituality 2017 ‘Writing for Raksmey A Story of Cambodia’ - by Joan Healy, launched in November 2016 … invites you to meet Cambodian women and men who, despite the terrible times of their lives, grow in courage, compassion and humour. God’s grace shines in the beauty of it. There is something here for each of us. Prayer & Spirituality 2017 Date: 16th February Time: 1.30-3pm; repeated at 7.30-9pm Where: 16 Esplanade Williamstown Donation: $20, concession $15 RSVP: by 15th February admin.sjbtsw@sosj.org.au or 9397 6012

Tackling ANXIETY and Building Resilience in Young People Michael Carr-Greg will present a talk specifically designed for anyone dealing with young people (8 to 23 years of age) on a regular basis. It is ideal for teachers and parents along with a host of other people who work or deal with young people. If you are interested in attending please ensure you secure your spot by emailing rick@criticalagendas.com.au as places are limited and similar sessions have often filled up quickly! The cost of the presentation is $20. Teachers will be issued with a PD Certificate of Attendance Venue: Manningham Function Centre 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster FREE on site car park Date: March 6th, 2017 Time:7pm to 8.30pm

Congratulations to our Summer Sport Captains… Congratulations to our Student Leaders who were presented at our Opening of the School Year mass last night. Our Junior School Council representatives are:

YEAR LEVEL REPRESENTATIVE REPRESENTATIVE

PREP D

Cooper Porter Kate Pope

PREP S

Michael Pye Georgia Lemanis

YEAR 1/ 2 HT

Daniel Ciavarella Ruby Ramsay

YEAR 1/ 2 S

Lexi Robertson Jack Curran

YEAR 1/ 2 N

Zali Howell Xavier Rietveld

YEAR 1/ 2 G

Gabriella Umana Mia Jesaulenko

YEAR 3/4 HK

Jett Porter Ava Zammit

YEAR 3/ 4 M

Gigi Fantuz Lexie Rietveld

YEAR 3/ 4 V

Gemma Deller Leon Bitaks

YEAR 5/6 K

Aiden Vella Evelyn Nguyen

YEAR 5/ 6 L

Emma Kelly Nicolina Shute

YEAR 5/ 6 C

Ryan Dawson Mila Fanjek

IMPORTANT DATES

Date Event Time

13/2 Class Assembly 5/6C 2.20pm – 3.00pm

14/2 District Swimming Carnival

17/2 Inter school sports Rd 2 @ away Vs Altona 9am – 11am

20/2 Class Assembly 3/4V 2.20pm – 3.00pm

25/2 Reconciliation & 1St Eucharist Rite of Acceptance Mass

6.00pm

26/2 Reconciliation & 1St Eucharist Rite of Acceptance Mass

10.30am – 11.30am

27/2 Class Assembly 3/4M 2.20pm – 3.00pm

1/3 Ash Wednesday Mass 9.15am – 10.15am

3/3 Inter school sports Rd 3 @ Home Vs Williamstown G 9am – 11am

6/3 Prayer Assembly 3/4 HK 2.40pm – 3.00pm

7/3 School Photos 8.30am – 1.30pm

8/3 Reconciliation Family Workshop 7pm – 8.30pm

10/3 Inter school sports Rd 4 @ away Vs Seaholme 9am – 11am

13/3 Labour Day Holiday

14/3 School Closure Day

16/3 Divisional Swimming 9am – 3.30pm

17/3 Inter school sports Rd 5 @ Home Vs Williamstown Nth

9am – 11am

20/3 Class Assembly 1/2S 2.20pm -3.00pm

22/3 Sacrament of Reconciliation 7pm – 8pm

24/3 Inter school sports Round Robin Final

27/3 Class Assembly 1/2N 2.20pm – 3.00pm

Parents & Teacher conferences 3.15pm – 5.30pm

28/3 WMR Swimming 9am – 3.30pm

31/3 End of Term One 2.30pm

MIXED GIRLS

Volleyball Anthony Price-Cofre Kyle Escober

Sunita Davavong Porsha Guerrera

Hot Shots Tennis

Ryan Dawson Aiden Vella

Ally Smedley Ava Steinhardt

Softball Layland Pappas Oliver Jeffery

Mila Fanjek Isla Manton

Basketball Thomas Jones Giles Mercer

Lynda Azzopardi Tegan Sortino

PRINCIPALS AWARDS 6th Feb 2016

PREP D Roland Hicks for a fantastic start to school and keeping his new classroom super tidy.

PREP S Samara Fallace for being a great listener.

YEAR 1/ 2HT Zara Reis for beginning the school year with a very positive attitude.

YEAR 1/ 2S Maddison Burns for being a great classroom helper for our new year ones.

YEAR 1/ 2N Cooper Thomas for his enthusiastic start to the school year.

YEAR 1/2G Samantha Coghlan for her positive attitude in starting the school year.

YEAR 3/4M Allegra Guerrera for being an enthusiastic member of 3/4M.

YEAR 3/4HK Callum Tucker for settling in brilliantly to his new classroom._

YEAR 3/4V Isabelle Nelson for confidently settling into year 3 and working hard on all classroom activities.

YEAR 5/6C Porsha Guerrera for her industrious work efforts and active leadership within the classroom

YEAR 5/6L Kate Pope for her focused effort developing her business during the holidays and enthusiastically sharing her ideas with us.

YEAR 5/6K Lucas Galea for focusing well during all activities and displaying an enthusiastic attitude towards a new year.

SPORTS & EXCURSIONS FUND (CSEF) School camps provide children with inspiring experiences in the great outdoors, excursions encourage a deeper understanding of how the world works and sports teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. All are part of a healthy curriculum. CSEF will be provided by the Victorian Government to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF. A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. The annual CSEF amount per student is: •• $125 for primary school students •• $225 for secondary school students. HOW TO APPLY Contact the school office to obtain a CSEF application form or download from www.education.vic.gov.au/csef and return to the school office asap

TUCKSHOP HELPERS Week beginning 13th February 2017

Monday Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday Marylinda Abate Friday Manager: Eva Coppola Tel: 9315 0799

New Tuckshop list and prices are on school website - Please take note of the new prices

MSJ Open Day

We welcome you to

meet our Principal, talk

to our teaching staff and take a

student-led tour of the College

Sunday 28 May from 10am until 2pm

Please register your intention to attend our Open Day in 2017. - Details on school website

Emmanuel College warmly welcomes all families of students to our

Information Morning on Saturday 11 February. The College is very excited

to talk to families about the opportunities that exist within the school. This

event is open to all families, however, contains important information for

students commencing Year 7 in 2018. Please confirm attendance with the

College Registrar on 8325 5119.

Notre Dame St. Paul’s Location 2-40 Foxwood Dr, Point

Cook Location 423 Blackshaws Rd,

Altona North Time 9.00 am Time 10.30 am

Enrolment applications;

Year 7, 2018: close on February 17, 2017

Year 7, 2019: close on August 25, 2017