Term 1 Week 3 - Friday 16th February 2024
From Our Principal
Dear families,
It has been kind of an odd week, not least with the curious calendrical mash-up of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day. With the wild weather, horrendous fires and devastating loss I thought about love and ashes and mending and wilderness. I thought about the heart’s astonishing capacity to keep beating through it all.
BLESSING FOR THE BROKENHEARTED
Let us agree
for now
that we will not say
the breaking
makes us stronger
or that it is better
to have this pain
than to have done
without this love.
Let us promise
we will not
tell ourselves
time will heal
the wound,
when every day
our waking
opens it anew.
Perhaps for now
it can be enough
to simply marvel
at the mystery
of how a heart
so broken
can go on beating,
as if it were made
for precisely this—
as if it knows
the only cure for love
is more of it,
as if it sees
the heart’s sole remedy
for breaking
is to love still,
as if it trusts
that its own
persistent pulse
is the rhythm
of a blessing
we cannot
begin to fathom
but will save us
nonetheless.
—Jan Richardson
Every blessing for the week ahead.
Roxanne
Pomonal Bushfires Fundraiser
St Mary's will be joining schools in the region and will have a casual clothes & BBQ lunch day next Friday! Please complete and return the form (sent home today) with the correct change by Wednesday next week. Students are asked to also bring a donation for casual clothes on the day. If you are able to help with the BBQ, please contact the office.
**Please note there will be no lunch orders from Marian College on that day**
Western Bulldogs Clinic
Next Thursday February 22, players from the Western Bulldogs Football Club will be visiting the Ararat area and have offered St Mary's the opportunity to be involved in some short clinics here at school! These will start from 10am.
Whole School Prayer returns next week
WSP is held each Friday at 2.45pm in the Multi Purpose Room. All welcome!
TERM 1 WHOLE SCHOOL PRAYER SCHEDULE
Friday 23rd February - SLC2
Friday 1st March - SLC1
Friday 8th March - MLC
Friday 15th March - JLC2
Friday 22nd March - JLC1
Friendly Reminders
PINK FAMILY FORMS
Due by Friday 23rd February
DIRECT DEBIT FORMS
Please ensure you return your direct debit forms to the office. Even if you have been on direct debits in the past you need to fill in a form EACH YEAR. For families wishing to pay in a lump sum fees are due Wednesday 28th February. All fees must be paid in full by Friday 8th November. Any question around school fees or if you have not received your statement please contact the office.
SUNSMART POLICY
It is compulsory that students wear hats in Terms 1 & 4 for any outside activities. New students receive a free hat from the office when they start at St Mary's. All other hat purchases are $10 (cash only).
DROP OFF AND PICK UP POINTS
Students are able to enter the school grounds via the ramp and the double gates on Moore Street. The gates will be opened at 8.30am and children will be supervised in the yard from this time.
At the end of each day, class teachers will walk the students out to the Davey Hub. Parents are able to meet children either in the hub or out on the grass/decked areas. We would like to remind all parents to be especially careful when dropping off and picking up your children. Please refrain from double parking in Moore Street and take care when backing out of car spaces to ensure the safety of all children.
SCHOOL ACCESS
If you are visiting the school between 9.00am and 3.00pm you are requested to enter through the office.
OFFICE HOURS
Monday 8.30am - 4.00pm
Tuesday 8.30am - 4.00pm
Wednesday 8.30am - 4.00pm
Thursday 8.30am - 4.00pm
Friday 9.00am - 4.00pm
FOUNDATION REST DAYS
A reminder that Wednesdays in Term One are Rest Days for our Foundation students.
On Wednesday 13th, 20th & 27th March Foundation students will be required to be at school.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the following students for this week:
Elliott B & Ellie P
School Student Broadband Initiative
This week's Parish Bulletin
TERM 1 DATES
Wednesday 21st February
Foundation Rest Day
Thursday 22nd February
Western Bulldogs AFL Clinic
10am: F-Grade 3
10.20am: Grades 4-6
Friday 23rd February
Pomonal Fires Fundraiser
BBQ Lunch & Casual Clothes Day
Wednesday 28th February
Foundation Rest Day
Parent Teacher Meet & Greets 3.30pm - 6.00pm
Thursday 29th February
Parent Teacher Meet & Greets 3.30pm - 6.00pm
Wednesday 6th March
Final Foundation Rest Day
Monday 11th March
Labour Day Public Holiday
Wednesday 13th March
Foundation students at school
Wednesday 20th March
Foundation students at school
Thursday 21st March
School Photo Day
Wednesday 27th March
Foundation students at school
Thursday 28th March
Last Day of Term 1
Early finish at 2.15pm
TERM 2
Monday 15th April
STUDENT FREE DAY - STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Tuesday 16th April
Students Return for Term 2
In Our Community
