Wednesday, 11 November 2015 —Term 4, Week 6

Dates to Remember:

11 November Remembrance Day Liturgy 11.15

Reconciliation Ceremony 6 pm

13 November Assembly Room 5

20 November Assembly Room 2 and Safety

House speaker at 8.40 am

27 November Advent Liturgy at 8,40 am

Room 11

St Mary’s Star of the Sea Cathedral

90 Smith Street, Darwin

Weekend Mass Times:

Saturday (Vigil) 6.30 pm

Sunday—7.30 am/9.30 am/7.00 pm

A Prayer of Remembrance

O Lord our God, we offer our prayers and peti-

tions

for those who have perished

as a result of conflict and the strife of war.

We pray for those who have given of themselves

willingly,

those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We pray for those who have been victimized,

innocent casualties of hatred and terror.

We pray for those who continue to place them-

selves

in harm’s way in order that peace and harmony

might be achieved.

Hear us, O Lord, as we make our appeal in their

memory;

Bless, O Lord our God,

those who have fought and valiantly died

that we might enjoy liberty and freedom.

May their sacrifice not be in vain.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 5

Dear families

Remembrance Day was commemorated today at St Mary’s with a liturgy in Mary MacKillop Hall led by our Defence

students and our DSTA (Defence School Transition Aide) Jo Christie. We paid tribute to our dedicated Defence members who serve and protect us and we prayed as a community for those who have sacrificed their lives for our

country.

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.

School Hours -no change 2016: A parent survey was conducted recently seeking feedback from families in rela-tion to a possible change to St Mary’s school hours. There was a mixed response to the proposed changes with

some families supporting the change and others opposed. Further work and consultation will be undertaken at a

later date. Families are advised that there will be no changes to school hours next year.

St Mary’s Major Raffle: Families are requested to return all raffle tickets by this Friday 13th November, even if they haven’t been sold. The drawing of the raffle has been postponed until Friday 20th November. This will allow for

families to return any unsold tickets and for these to be sold prior to the draw on the 20th November. Your assis-

tance with this is appreciated.

Class structures and staffing 2016 are currently being finalised for next year with the likelihood that class arrangements will be similar to this year. However, with the gradual increase in enrolments, there is

a possibility that an additional class may be created. Families who haven’t already confirmed their inten-

tions for 2016 are asked to do so to assist with our planning and allow for places to be offered to new families seeking enrolments.

Semester 2 report writing and final assessments are currently underway. School reports and Evidence of Learn-ing Folders are sent home with students on Wednesday 9th December. Student reports will not be available prior to

the 9th December due to the tight timelines for writing, editing, data entry and printing of reports. Reports will be

posted to any families who are leaving Darwin or heading off on holidays before the end of the year so it is im-portant that the school has your current or forwarding postal address.

Parent Survey: A reminder to families about the survey mentioned last week. Please click on the link below to

complete the survey which will be open until Wednesday 18th November. The information will be used to inform

our School Strategic plan and annual school improvement plans with the ultimate goal to benefit the entire commu-

nity. https://www.schoolsurvey.edu.au/s/sC5Lkf2e survey code: ZaQQTPhJ

May God bless you and keep you safely in His care,

Jacqui Langdon, Principal

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEWS

Sacrament of Reconciliation

This evening, the following students from St Mary’s will be making their

First Reconciliation.

This is a wonderful invitation for children to reflect on experiences of family – the happy and the hurtful times.

Please keep these children in your prayers.

Sean Hagan Mac Sawyer

Thomas Reardon Henry Metcalf Alice Riccardi Ava Daniels

Andre Riccardi Aidan Jackson

Reigan Cacciotti Luke Brennan

Jessica Cavanagh Luke Brady Louis Lakin

Gabriella Fox

Rebecca Nancarrow

Acting APRE

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Learning and Teaching Corner

Literacy – Fathers reading to their young children can

have a surprising impact on their child's development.

Recent research suggests that when fathers read frequently to their

children at a young age, this had an impact on their language development one year later and their literacy

development two years later.

When fathers shared a book with their child, they would often link events in the book to a child's own ex-

perience. For example, when a ladder was discussed in the book, many fathers mentioned the last time

they had used a ladder to climb up on the roof or use it for their work.

Sharing a book not only promotes children's language, literacy and cognitive development, it also builds

relationships! Book reading is an activity that can be done anywhere and anytime: in line at the grocery

store, waiting at the doctor's or on the beach or at home.

For more information check out this link http://www.smh.com.au/comment/story-time-with-dad--can-

do-wonders-for-a-childs-development-20150930-gjyp6h.html

Mathematics- Capacity

Try these at home with your child to help them connect the maths they learn at school to real

life experiences.

Water

In the bath/kitchen sink/ paddling pool/bucket etc, pour water from different sized containers.

How many little ones does it take to fill the largest one?

Put the containers in order of capacity.

Does the tallest/shortest container have the biggest/smallest capacity? (Use familiar objects like yo-

ghurt pots, bowls, plastic bottles etc).

Coloured Water

A few drops of food colouring in the water makes reading scales much easier.

Use a measuring jug of coloured water to measure the capacity (in litres and/or millilitres) of known

items.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

MJR News: Our Wall of Fame winner for this week is Liam McBride (room 1) for

always being happy to help when he is asked.

This week MJR house team winners were….Jillian Wong (Little) trying to help solve others

problems and being a great friend….Catherine.

Maddie Swyny (Hartzer) helped me with something...Isabelle

Luke Brady (Chevalier) on the playground he played with me….Damien

Thomas Reardon (O’Sullivan) he helped me when I fell over….Mathilda

Student of the Week Awards

Room 5

Paige Devitt

Shamah Gabriel Yak

Room 7

Sophie Johnson

Andreas Soisangwan

Ruby Livesley

Room 4

Charlotte Campbell

Alex Robaye-Remfrey

Stavros Mostris

Room 3

Charlise Campbell

Sophia Tsikouris

Jake Cowdery

Room 2

Aidan Christie

Stephan Biro

Maria Develos

Room 10

Ryley Craven

George Halikos

Michael O’Toole

Room 11

Georgia Campbell

Kye Cotter

Kangaroos

Lienanne Playford

Ralph Kii

Transition 2016

Does your child turn five by 30 June 2016? If so they are eligible to start Tran-

sition in January 2016.

Please contact the school office for an enrolment

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

School Parking is always about Safety

The provision of school parking is a challenge that the City of Darwin faces constantly. Meeting the demands of all road users

around schools is not easy! The City of Darwin is committed to improving safety and encouraging greater co-operation from all

road users at School Set down and Pick up times.

Used in conjunction with the colour coded parking zones are the regulatory parking signs to allow regulatory services staff to

undertake enforcement if required.

If the Kiss and Go is full—don’t panic. A lap around the block should allow sufficient time for the zone to clear. Remember that

double parking is not only illegal but dangerous and encourages poor road use behavior in our children.

Always use the rear kerbside passenger ‘Safety Door’ even at the shops or at home! Good habits save lives.

Ultimately the success of this system relies on the support and co-operation of our school community.

The City of Darwin’s Regulatory staff have supported this program by allowing parents to become familiar with the layout.

They will now be commencing enforcement programs.

Remember our children expect us to keep them safe, so we should not risk their

lives just getting them to and

from school.

Kiss and Go

The ‘No Parking’ sign with complimentary ‘Kiss and Go’ zone allows

vehicles to stop for a sufficiently short period (less than 2 minutes) to set down or

pick up children without leaving the

vehicle.

This zone is designated by the matching green sign and linemarking.

Drop off time: Pull in, with your child sitting in the rear passenger

seat closest to the kerb, kiss them goodbye, let them out of the car,

indicate and pull away safely freeing-up the space for the next parent.

Pick up time: Pull in and wait in the car for your children to walk across the foot-

path, and get into the car via the kerbside passenger door. Indicate before pulling

out safely and clearing the zone.

Tips to help you: Don’t have school bags in the boot. Place them on the floor at

your child’s feet for easy access. If the green zone is full don’t stress!

A lap around the block will allow the zone to clear.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School

‘Kiss and Go’ Drop Off and Pick Up Policy and Procedure

Authority

This Policy & Procedure is issued in line with the following sections of the Work Health and Safety Act NT 2011 National Uniform Legislation (NUL).

Section 17 – Management of Risks;

Section 19 – Primary Duty of Care;

Section 27 – Duty of Officers; and

Section 28 – Duty of Workers.

Statement of Purpose and Intent

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, (SMCPS), is committed to providing the safest possible environment for all children, staff, family and visitors. To assist parents and guardians with the safe drop off and pick up of children, the following Policy & Procedure has been developed. Given the Hazards identified by the SMCPS Work Health and Safety Committee, the purpose of this Policy & Procedure is to provide all SMCPS stakeholders with a practical, consistent and uniform docu-ment on the safe use of the ‘Kiss and Go’ zone at the school.

Related References

Work Health and Safety Act NT 2011 (NUL);

Work Health and Safety Regulations NT 2011 (NUL);

www.roadwise.asn.au (Road Wise); and

www.kidsafewa.com.au

Implementation

This document is to be implemented by the following means:

Review by SMCPS Principal, WH&S Committee, School Board and staff;

Consultation and review with relevant stakeholders;

Safety Bulletin, (Procedure), released through email, newsletter and hard copy to teachers, parents and relevant stake-holders;

Prominently displayed on various notice boards throughout SMCPS; and

Education and instruction as required.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Procedure for ‘Kiss and Go’ – Morning Drop Off 8:15-8:45am

Parents are responsible for supervising their children until they have entered the school Grounds in the morning;

Children are to be dropped off as close as possible to the school gate entrance;

Apply your handbrake while the children exit your vehicle;

Children must use the footpath side door, preferably rear, of the vehicle to exit;

Wait until your child is safely inside the school gates before driving off; and

Maximum stop time is 2 minutes.

Procedure for ‘Kiss and Go’ – Afternoon Pick Up 3:00pm-3:30pm

Children assemble outside Room 8 at 3:15pm for Parent Pick Up;

Children are supervised by 2 staff members outside Room 8 from 3:15-3:30pm;

Drivers wait in line on the school side of the road and move forward as the line progresses;

Display your name sign on the dash of your vehicle;

Never leave / park your vehicle;

When you pull up at the pick-up point, apply your handbrake;

Children must enter the vehicle from the footpath side;

Wait until your child is properly restrained before moving off; and

If there are no available spaces in the Kiss and Go zone for your vehicle, please continue to do a lap around the

perimeter of the school until a space becomes available. This will avoid traffic jams and congestion.

Safety Considerations

We strongly encourage parents to observe a 20km/h speed limit on Lindsay Street during drop off / pick up times;

Never double park or do a U-Turn close to the drop off / pick up zone;

SMCPS strongly encourages parents / guardians to be responsible for ensuring their child is inside the school gate

before they drive away; and

Parents/guardians must never park and leave vehicles for any length of time in the zone.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Please choose safety over convenience… Your child’s welfare is of the utmost importance to us!

Review and Audit

This Policy and Procedure will be subject to annual review and audit from the time it is approved for distribution by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Board. A review and audit process will be initiated if circumstances require or near misses and other Hazards / associated Risks are reported.

Mrs Jacqui Langdon

Principal

21 March, 2014

Ratified by St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Board – 21 March 2014

Remembrance Day Liturgy

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

PIANO RECITALS

Music Recitals for piano students will be held on Sundays, 22 November and 29 November, 2015, at 2.30p.m, in the Holy Spirit School Library.

Families of current piano students, and those interested in enrolling students in the 2016 program, are welcome to attend.

PIANO ENROLMENT FORMS

Enrolment forms for the 2016 piano pro-gram are now available from the front office.

Thank you,

Carolyn Gray (piano teacher)

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

A parent at St

Mary’s is looking for

someone to care

for her daughter

currently in Year 3,

after school Mon-

day-Thursday.

Approximately 2 hours each day. Prefera-bly located in the city area or inner suburbs.

More hours will be required during school

holidays.

She is a pretty easy going kid and fits in well. Paid position.

If you are interested or know of anyone who

could assist this family please contact Julie at the office.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Term 4, Week 6