St Mary's Bulletin

Thank you to all the Dad’s and Grandfathers who joined us this morning for brekkie and our Father's Day Liturgy. Thank you to Father for starting the morning with a lovely Liturgy and for Mrs Riethmuller and her helpers for making sure their was plenty of food and drinks to keep everyone happy. We drew our fantastic P&F Father's Day Raffle this morning and our raffle prize winners were:

First Prize: Linda Palm

Second Prize: Jo Lane

Third Prize: Elisha Cooper

Many thanks to Hannah for organising another raffle success AND our magnificent sponsors:

CBH Merredin

TransPlus

Merredin Treasury

Great Sothern Fuels

Great Eastern Freightlines

Our Junior children continued with our Senior’s visiting schedule. As in the past, the students and seniors relished the chance to connect over some storytelling and board game fun.

The students performed perfectly on Wednesday night at the Perth Convention Centre. Once again, we extend our thanks to Mrs Silver and her wonderful sister Emma (who travelled several times over the past month from Lake Grace) for committing to St Mary’s Dance program. I'd like to thank the Merredin Shire and Colgar Windfarm for their generous community grants which contributed towards the costumes, props and entry fees, making events like this possible for our students. I’d also like to make mention the staff members and parents who supported Jess and Emma with costumes, babysitting, food and who also travelled to Perth and helped out on the evening. The enthusiasm and commitment of the students reflected magnificently on St Mary’s School.

Our Tournament of Minds team performed their pieces before the judges on Monday and received great praise for their ingenuity and creativity. You can read the judges comments below:

“What a fantastic presentation from a first-time TOM team! Your team did a fantastic job of retelling Stefano's story, and connecting it to a life lesson, and you captured the emotions very well! You also showed a good understanding of the challenge rules, which was great to see. Thank you again for such a fabulous performance - we really hope to see you all next year!”

Don’t forget we’ll have our normal assembly AND have the chance to watch the ToM and PAF performances after the national anthem.

School Photos are on this Tuesday the 3rd on September. Remember to double check the Audiri notice to see what uniform requirements your child will need for the day. Family photo order forms are available from the front office. 

We have a busy bee Tuesday at 1pm at the Rec Centre to help prepare the oval for the Carnival. The wonderful Mrs Crees (AND Mr Crees!!) are getting everything ready for the big day; so, if you’re able to help, we’d love to have you!

This week we feature Leo Purssell and his family, who joined the St Mary's community back in February. Leo is in Year Four and has settled in well into Miss Ariti's Year Three/Four class. He said his favourite thing about St Mary's school is that all the people here are very kind. His favourite subjects are art and science.

The other day I bought a thesaurus, but when I got home, I saw all the pages were blank inside.

 I have no word to describe how angry I am.

On Tuesday we invited our Kindy Dads to come in for a special play to celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday. 

The Dads enjoyed building magnetic tile ball runs, playing Guess Who, kicking the footy and many other activities. 

Before they departed, the children presented their Dads with a special card and gift.

It was wonderful to see the big smiles and pure joy on the Kindy children’s faces at the novelty of having their dads at school.

A big thank you to all who attended and especially those wonderful dads that helped move our day bed.

Don't forget the expiry date for ordering photo's online is: Tuesday the 10th of September. 

The Colour run is fast approaching, just 3 weeks to go until everyone gets messy! The Colour run committee is looking forward to seeing you all on the 20th of September. So far we have 45 children who have created a profile and have started fundraising. This is out of 147 children! We would love more children to register and to start fundraising! Every donation helps - BIG or Small! Please see the flyers included in the Newsletter for information regarding the day and how to register. Thank you

https://www.facebook.com/share/vokWN1y3qeTt24hN/

"The Premier’s Reading Challenge runs from the 6th of May to the 6th of September and the idea is that you try to read as many books as you can. It’s a competition right across the state and there’s some great prizes – including a Nintendo Switch. So, everyone get on board with the Premier’s Reading Challenge for 2024. Get to your books!"

Hon. Roger Cook MLA, Premier of Western Australia 

About the challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is a literacy engagement program established in 2022 to: 

• encourage students to read more books
• enjoy reading
• improve literacy levels.

The mission is for students in kindergarten to Year 10 to read 12 books over 4 months from 6 May to 6 September. That’s right—just 12, students can read:

• books
• short stories
• graphic novels
• eBooks
• talking books
• audiobooks
• poems
• anything that sparks their interest and gets them reading.

Whether they’re a curious kindergartener or a high-schooler, there is something of interest for readers at any and every level.

Adventures await. Books take us to places we only dream about and even further. Where else can we experience a mutiny on a pirate ship or jump on a time-traveling bicycle.

Students will expand their vocabulary, learn new facts, and impress their friends with fancy new words that they have learned.

At the end of the challenge, students who complete it will receive a special certificate signed by the Premier. They can hang it proudly on their bedroom wall; it’s like winning a gold medal in reading!

Get your students ready to explore, grab their reading lights and bookmarks and set sail on their next reading adventure.

The next great story is only one page turn away.

Benefits of the challenge

The challenge will:

• raise the profile of reading and literacy in schools
• give students a focus for their reading
• encourage students to enjoy reading and read more books
• encourage students to participate by being challenged
• offer incentives and prizes for readers
• build self-esteem, pride, school unity and a sense of achievement among students
• increase the involvement of parents in their child’s reading
• increase the number of library books borrowed
• contribute to increased literacy levels.

How to register

Go to:

https://www.premiersreadingchallenge.wa.edu.au/

and click on the "SIGN IN" button to create an account.

St Mary's School is part of the "Containers for Change" program. Please see the poster below for all the details. If you require a green bag to collect your cans, these are available from Mrs Riethmuller at the school.

Are you child’s hair accessories starting to look a bit worst for wear? Or are you having trouble finding the St Mary’s colours?? Take a look at the link below or scan the QR code for School Ponytails to see what is available. Don’t think just School, do you need colours for Football, Netball, Hockey, Basketball etc…..take a browse as for every order placed the St Mary’s P & F receive a portion back!! Tell your friends, family, next door neighbour - anyone you know that needs to update their hair accessories! Thank you for your support. P.S Orders can be placed at anytime throughout the year and are sent direct to you! https://www.ponytailsandfairytales.com.au/discount/ST%2520MARYS%2520PS?redirect=%2Fcollections%2Fst-marys-primary-school-merredin-wa-6415