St Mary's Newsletter

Term 4 - Week 4 (1st November, 2024)

Dear St Mary's School Community,

‘Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain,

But all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing

Clare Bennett, 1937

 

Focus Value: Trust

We rely on each other to do the right thing.

World Teachers Day

Its days like last Thursday’s Teachers’ Day, where I’m thankful for being part of the St Mary’s school community. Our P&F President, Chesney and Brad from Wheatbelt Coffee Time turned up at the school and celebrated World Teachers Day with a yummy hot coffee, a specky coffee mug and a rose courtesy of the P&F and parent community. It made us feel really appreciated and I’d like to acknowledge the P&F, and especially Chesney and the Students who handed out the coffee and gifts AND Brad who very kindly donated over 20 coffees, teas, hot chocolates and decaf, half kombucha oat milk lattes with a twist of lemon (that was mine!)

Breast Cancer Awareness Day

Our Year Six leaders organised a ‘Wear Pink’ day on Monday in order to raise money for Breast Cancer. The day was a great success with nearly all children either wearing a pink item of clothing or wearing a pink ribbon. See below in our "Special Events" section for all the details of the day from our Year Sixes. Other Year Six leaders are busy organising a Talent Quest for all classes. Our first heat was held yesterday and several groups have been busily preparing their items.

 

Senior Centre Visit

Last Thursday’s Seniors visit was another great day where the students of St Mary’s were able to connect in a meaningful way with the wider community. Just how successful, was illustrated in a letter we received during the week from the Senior Centre:

Hi Pauline

I was on roster today at the Senior Centre and once again, the visit was a huge success.

Please pass on our sincere thanks to the staff and students who have visited the Centre during 2024.

Our members have enjoyed the performances, games, activities and general interaction with the students, who are to be commended for their open, friendly attitude when engaging with our members.

Kind regards 

Julie Smith

Chairperson

P&F

Our wonderful and dedicated P&F met on Monday night for the budget meeting. 2025 looks like an exciting year and I’d like to thank once again the continued dedication of both our P&F and CSAC members.

 

Year 7 Transition Days

Information from Merredin College regarding transition for the current Year 6 students who are planning on attending Merredin College in Year 7 is attached in the document below and is also available on Audiri. The schedule is set by the College and is an opportunity for students who are enrolled for Year 7 to get to know their 2025 teachers. 

Transition days are as follows: 

Lead-up days - Half day transition - Friday 15th November and Friday 22nd November - students will leave from St Mary's and be dismissed/picked-up from the College.

Transition - Full days - Thursday 28 November and Friday 29 November 2024 - Students will arrive and depart from the College. 

Student are asked to wear their current sports or leavers uniform on these days. 

Students will have access to the canteen during recess and lunch if they wish to use this facility. 

For further information please contact Merredin College front office on 9041 7520 or Merredin.College@education.wa.edu.au

Download

New Government summer regulations

Thank you so much for your patience in receiving the news about school closures due to extreme hot weather conditions. This is a new condition that has been placed on us without prior warning. We will endeavour to keep you as informed as possible over the summer period so that you are prepared for all eventualities. Please don’t hesitate to contact the School Office if you have further questions.

Swimming Lessons

Lessons start next week and with the hot weather arriving early it’ll mean the cool water will be highly anticipated! Don’t forget to check Audiri for all your swimming information. 

Week Five Assembly - Thursday 7th November

Just a reminder that next weeks assembly is on Thursday the 7th of November. Mrs Munn's Music group will be presenting at the assembly. Her Year 1/2 students will present their items first and then we will present the Junior certificates. This will allow the Year 1/2 students to then leave the assembly early to make their way to their swimming lessons. We will then continue on with the remainder of the assembly as per the normal format. 

Remote Opshop Project

Sana (Year 3) and Shay will be collecting clothing donations from Monday 4th November to Thursday 7th November. Baskets will be left outside classrooms from Year 1 to Year 6 for your donations.

Clothes will be donated to the Remote Opshop Project. Please no stains or holes in clothes. Also no large boxes of clothing to be left in the baskets. Just a few items if you have it.

Thank you for your support. 

St Mary's School - "New Family of the Week"

This weeks "New Family of the Week" feature takes us to the Year One/Two classroom where we meet the Dagar family. Mrs Grant & Mrs Della Bosca's class were fortunate enough to gain two new class members; Rishaan in Year Two and his sister Kavya in Year One. Mrs Grant said both children have fitted in so well into the classroom and it is like they have always been here. Rishaan's loves anything to do with Maths and Kavya loves unicorns!!

Why are real Christmas trees bad at knitting?

They always drop their needles.

God Bless

Mr Hamersley


Class News

Science / Design and Technology

Term Four has seen the introduction of our new topic, Physical Sciences, with Design and Technology elements woven throughout lessons.

Students in PP and Year 1/2 have been learning about how different objects move depending upon the force applied to them.

The Year 3/4 class have been learning about heat, including conduction, convection and radiation. They have also been investigating which materials are good conductors and insulators of heat.

The Year 4/5 class have been learning all about light and have created different mirror mazes. They will use their knowledge to create their own shadow puppet show later in the term.

The Year 5/6 class have been learning about electricity and have enjoyed experimenting making electrical circuits.

Once our Science units are complete, students will be designing and creating different projects with a Christmas theme. 

Special Events

Breast Cancer Awareness Day

On Monday, the 28th of October, Kate Growden and Milla Dolton organised a Breast cancer day, where all the students wore pink for the day. Nearly every student brought in a gold coin donation. In total, we raised $200.50 which will be donated to the McGrath foundation. 

We donated to this crucial cause because we know not nearly enough people are aware of the dangers of Breast Cancer. We hope that everybody learnt something different and are now conscious of donating/ helping out the hard-working nurses, doctors and patients affected by cancer. We hope next year someone will do another fundraiser that will help all those with an experience with Breast Cancer. 

Other News & Important Dates

Viterra & St Mary’s Primary School Merredin P&F

Viterra and the St. Mary’s Primary School Merredin P & F have agreed to a sponsorship program for the coming season and into the future. The Viterra Sponsorship Program commenced in 2010 as a way of helping WA grain growing communities. Since its inception, Viterra has donated over $1 million to WA grain growing sporting clubs & community groups. Viterra is very proud of what the program has achieved over this period. We are very pleased to be able to contribute to WA grain growing communities that support us, knowing that our sponsorship goes some way towards the viability of rural WA clubs and their communities – it also gives growers a sense that they too have assisted with their club’s finances. We appreciate any support you can offer Viterra by spreading the word amongst your members and the community.

Here is how it works:

Viterra will donate $0.20 per tonne to the St Mary’s Primary School Merredin P & F for every tonne of grain delivered against contracts sold to Viterra.

At the time of contracting, the grower or their consultant MUST identify that they wish the contract to be a part of the sponsorship agreement with the St Mary’s Primary School Merredin P & F. Every 12 months we will forward your club the funds accumulated against the contracts covered by the agreement.

For contract pricing of any grain, or if you wish to subscribe to the Viterra ‘sms’ or ‘email’ pricing service, contact Rob Haddrill, Tim Giumelli or Matt Stenhouse in the Viterra WA office.

1300 453 626

Rob Haddrill 0407 191 633

Tim Giumelli 0427 017 047

Matt Stenhouse 0419 040 786

Containers for Change

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.

Community Notices

Enrol in VacSwim

VacSwim enrolments are now open for our Country early start and January programs. This years program are FREE, so it's a great time to enrol your children!! Please click on the link below to enrol:

Enrol in VacSwim - Department of Education

WAAPA Summer School 2025

Start your new year with an exciting experience at WAAPA. Come along this January for a fun-packed program where you'll meet new people, sharpen your skills, and get plenty of performance opportunities. WAAPA’s Summer School offers a wide variety of performing arts courses tailored for secondary school students. Whether you're going into Year 7 or Year 12, there's something for every aspiring artist—classes in Acting for Stage, Dance, Acting for Camera, Jazz Music, and Music Theatre. Our expert instructors welcome students of all skill levels and experiences. For more details on the courses available, visit Summer School 2025 or reach out to Gabrielle Metcalf at explore.waapa@ecu.edu.au or call 9370 6775.

Shire of Merredin Australia Day Nominations

The Shire of Merredin Australia day nominations are now open.

The awards seek to recognise outstanding individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to their local communities during the past year, or those who have given exceptional service over a sustained period. These contributions can take many forms, including but not limited to education, health, fundraising, voluntary services, business, employment, sport, arts, environment, social inclusion, or any other area that contributes to the betterment of the community.

There are four award categories: 1. Community Citizen of the Year (for individuals over 16 years) 2. Young Community Citizen of the Year (for individuals aged 16-30 years) 3. Senior Community Citizen of the Year (for individuals aged 65 years or over) 4. Active Citizenship Award (for community groups or events).

We strongly encourage individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds to consider submitting a nomination.

 

St Mary's Parish Merredin- Mass Times

Merredin: Saturday 6.30pm & Sunday 10.30am

Kellerberrin: Sunday 8.00am

St Mary's P&F Uniform Shop

Open Wednesday 8.30am-9.10am

Online Orders: www.quickcliq.com.au