News
RE News
Hello!
And so we are at the end of week 4… crazy! How wonderful it is to have all the students back and the sounds of their laughter and joy reverberating throughout the school grounds.
Next week on Wednesday, we begin our annual Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday. Unfortunately due to current Covid restrictions (are we sick of the phrase yet??) we can’t gather together as a whole school community for Mass. As someone who finds this particular mass very moving, and see how the students really connect and are aware of its value and meaning, this makes me very sad. However, God is bigger than our limitations and never ceases to meet us where we are at. So next Wednesday will look different, but will still be marked and held with the respect and attention it deserves. The year 5/6/7 class will gather with the parish for Mass, while the year 3/4, year 1/2 and Reception class will hold smaller prayer and activity sessions in class. Don't forget that as mentioned in the last newsletter, we will be joining in on the fundraising efforts of Project Compassion and ask that all families get behind this wonderful organisation. Donation boxes will be coming home soon.
Importantly to note that before we start Lent on Wednesday, we have Shrove Tuesday.. or Pancake day as the students love to remember it, where all students will have the opportunity to have allergy friendly pancakes for recess that day. The tradition behind the day goes back to when people would use up all the left over fat, butter, and dairy on this day by making pancakes as these foods were traditionally given up during Lent. Mardi Gras, interestingly, is a French term meaning “Fat Tuesday.” The tradition was the same in France, all fat had to be finished off by Ash Wednesday. Carnival is derived from the Latin “carne vale,” which means “good bye to meat” and was once an innocent festival celebrating the day before Lent began.
I hope that these 6 weeks of Lent will be a time for fruitful reflection and growth for you all.
God Bless,
Miriam Honner
APRIM
Yorketown Netball Club
Please contact Suzie Harvey if you are interested in playing, coaching or umpiring.
Project Compassion
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Junior Primary
This week the Reception and Year 1/2 class read the storybook 'The Rainbow Fish'. Both classes spent time discussing why it was important that Rainbow Fish shared his shimmery scales and how it helped him to make new friends. Each student shared one set of art resources in pairs to decorate their Rainbow Fish.
Principal's Report
Hi all,
We traverse through to the end of Week 4 and it’s been a wonderful fortnight as we resumed to full capacity. Seeing the children get stuck into their learning programs and catch up with their friends who in some cases they hadn’t seen in 9 weeks was powerful. It certainly feels like we may be in the endgame with the restrictions, but as always, we will continue to follow advice from Catholic Education and SA Health as we resume 'normal' activities in the future.
Sports Day
Sports Day is in two weeks (10th March). Next week we will be having many practices with the children to ensure they are prepared for the event. This week we were able to receive some clarity on how we can hold the event in a safe manner.
- We will run the entire day outside. The clubrooms will only be open for people to use the toilet facilities.
- Marquee shade will be provided for the students, but other adults should bring their own shade if there is a warm forecast for the day.
- Parents and Grandparents are welcome as we are not limited to capacity given the event is outdoors.
- The Gather and Grow Team are asking for donations as per the item in this newsletter. Students can bring a small amount of money (Under $10) to purchase their lunch. Alternatively students can pack their own lunch. A reminder letter with all previous arrangements will be sent late next week.
Student Free Day
We have a scheduled Student Free day on Friday the 11th of March. Staff at SCMS will be completing professional development on site on that day, focussing on the Literacy and Numeracy progressions in the Australian curriculum.
Spelling Mastery
A note was sent home this afternoon to Year 3-7 families around our new Spelling Program in these year levels called Spelling Mastery. Spelling Mastery uses as phonemic approach, a whole word approach and a morphemic approach which exposes advanced spellers to prefixes, bases and suffixes. Last night at our staff professional development we practised the delivery of the lessons to each other. It was incredibly powerful to practice the delivery of lessons and view the different way each teacher delivered the lesson. I sat in on a lesson on morphographs and learnt that the morphograph 'est' that appears in words like cheapest, greatest, and lightest means 'most'.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing (and being part of) this program in action next week.
Kind Regards,
Scott
New Staff
Jorja joins us as our Reception teacher this year after being part of the family at SCMS in 2021 as an ESO. She has grown up on the Yorke Peninsula and has strong experience in working with children through taking on part time work at an OSHC throughout her studies. Jorja has had a wonderful first couple of weeks getting to know our Reception class and their families. We are so lucky to have her here.
Phoebe joins us from metropolitan Adelaide as our Year 1/2 Teacher. Phoebe has a wide experience in working in children's entertainment as well as being passionate about movement and dance. She has a strong Christain faith and spent the holidays settling into Yorketown as well as being part of community events offering her services as a Face Painter. We are absolutely delighted to have her join our staff family.
Principal's Report
Dear Families,
And so completes the end of two strange, unique, challenging and fulfilling weeks.
Nothing about this time has been particularly easy, but in any experience there have been moments of grace and opportunity. I want to again say thank you to our entire community. Thank you to the parents who have assisted their children in accessing their learning. We know it’s not ideal. We know motivation can be challenging. As you might remember at the conclusion of our last iteration of Learning @ Home, we conducted a parent survey. These reflections were extremely helpful in refining our practice for this time.
Thank you also to the parents who communicated to us that their children needed to complete their learning at school. The dialogue was always clear and respectful which we all very much appreciated. We’ve enjoyed having them here.
Do we want to do this all again. Not particularly.
Will we have to? Unlikely
Can we predict anything? Probably not.
Moving Forward
The State Government have announced that all students will be back on site on Monday. This is incredibly exciting and it will certainly be a terrific day to see everyone back together. There will still be restrictions on parents on site, assemblies, excursions and gatherings until the beginning of Week 5 at this point.
In lieu of a Parent Information Night (due to restrictions around Adults on site) each class will send information over the next week that will discuss the inner workings of their classroom. It will provide clarity around classroom expectations, homework, uniform etc.
We have clear structures and procedures in place to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 on our site. There is no need for me to repeat them in this email as all parents have received these.
We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday.
Visit from the ArchBishop
Excitingly, Archbishop Patrick O’Regan will be visiting our church in Yorketown for Mass on Saturday the 19th of February. All school families are welcome to attend mass.
Sports Uniform
A reminder about what days your students are required to wear Sports Uniform. Plain White socks accompany the Sports uniform as well as Sports Shorts/Navy Track Pants and Sneakers. Further information on our uniform can be found at https://www.scms.catholic.edu.au/your-child/uniform
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RE News
RE News:
Hello!
And welcome back to school... of sorts!
Definitely not the start we envisioned at the end of last year, but like Scott has said before, it is so wonderful to have such a supportive, understanding and caring parent community who has adapted to all the changes and regulations so well. We can’t wait for everyone to be back on board next week.
In a few short weeks we start Lent for another year on Ash Wednesday (March 2) and we are hoping to be able to hold a school mass for this. For those new to the traditions of Lent, please click on the link below or scan the QR code for a short video explaining what it’s all about. One tradition that we offer here at SCMS, is to partake in fundraising for Project Compassion. This is a beautiful way for our students to learn about those who are less fortunate than ourselves and to help in a very small, but vital way. Below is a short explanation about this fundraiser.
“Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s main annual fundraising campaign. It mobilises Australians to raise much-needed funds to help alleviate poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity in the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in the world.
Held during Lent, the six-week period before Easter, Catholic schools, Parishes, and the wider Australian public participate in a diverse range of fundraising activities and events to support Caritas Australia’s programs both overseas and here with our First Australian partners.
Project Compassion is an extraordinary demonstration of the faith, empathy and generosity of our supporters. It is the lifeblood of Caritas Australia; without it, we could not do the vital work that we do.” – Project Compassion website, https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/faq/
I hope as a community, we can all join in on this fundraising and raise some much needed money for those who need our help. Even just a few dollars can make a big difference to someone’s life. Money boxes will be sent home next week for this purpose.
I hope to see you all soon, have a great rest of the week!
God Bless,
Miriam
APRIM
What is Lent? Click on this link. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1mjuy1NA0
Finance
SCHOOL FEES
Welcome to 2022! Families will be receiving their Fees Statement for 2022 in Week 3 of Term 1 (per direction from Catholic Education South Australia).
Thank you to those families that have already set up Direct Debit or other payment arrangements. If you are wanting to set up Direct Debit or Centrepay deductions, please let me know. This can easily be arranged and we can discuss a payment per week/fortnight/month that is affordable for you.
If you think you may be eligible for School Card, application forms are available from the school – just drop in or give me a call.
For those that may be having difficulty paying your fees, please let us know. We are happy to discuss options with you so please make contact with myself or Scott March.
BUILDING FUND
Our voluntary Building Fund helps us with the purchase of capital items now and into the future. If you are unable to donate the full $150 we would ask you to consider making a donation amount of your choice. This is a tax deductible donation. Your donation is very much appreciated by the School.
Regards,
Margaret Grainger - Bursar